The country's previous leader has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her removal from power.
The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the turmoil in the previous year.
The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.
Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".
The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had requested severe punishments.
Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.
"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."
The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.
Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.
One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.
The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.
International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "crimes against humanity".
The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.
Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.
Ahead of the verdict, family members of those killed during the protests informed 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 the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".
Lucky Akther, whose spouse died 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 minds."
Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.
Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.
The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.
This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.
Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".
"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he added.
The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.
The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.
Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.
"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."
The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."
The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.
"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, 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 "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.
This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.
