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

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off 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, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

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

Following her removal, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this country."

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

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.