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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) 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. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, 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 exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure 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 her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.