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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 commenced through requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

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

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he expressed.