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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader verified by media examinations in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance 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 "implemented before the election".

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

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the penalty was not finality for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.