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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her crackdown on protests led by students which resulted in her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the penalty was not resolution for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.