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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 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 turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, the former leader stated the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson told press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died 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 achieve closure in their souls."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he expressed.