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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews in previous months indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

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".

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

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

After her departure, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

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

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the punishment was not resolution for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.