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The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for human rights violations stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

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

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, 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.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from the former leader and the old leadership," he stated.