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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said 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 human rights.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson told press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

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

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.