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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for atrocities stemming from her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the turmoil last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year began with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews in previous months implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the old leadership," he said.