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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for crimes against humanity due to her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded 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.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the execution sentence 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 do not fear to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

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

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.