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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews during the current year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he continued.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.