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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations due to her crackdown on youth demonstrations which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

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

The youth-driven revolt last year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests stated to media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges 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 who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.