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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 resulted in her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil in the previous year.

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

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and applauding as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with demands to abolish state employment quotas 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 constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations during the current year indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.