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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court 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 ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

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

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.