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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations due to her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "human rights atrocities".

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 one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests stated to news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates 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 her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not closure for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.