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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment 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 leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

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

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

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

Following her removal, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out 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 grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

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

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

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

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

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