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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity stemming from her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt last year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

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

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

After her departure, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

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

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this nation."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.