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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations due to her severe measures on youth demonstrations which resulted in her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity 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 facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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 kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, 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 party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. 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 could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he said.