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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted 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 the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty 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 have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the election.

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

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; which is why I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.