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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by media examinations earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

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

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon 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 the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he said.