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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 led to her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent 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 hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, 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 satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

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".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Following her removal, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

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

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am sad," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.