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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the days leading up to 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 during 2024 commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he added.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.