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

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests informed media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

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

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

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

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

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.