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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 authorizing deadly measures 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 following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused 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 "executed before the election".

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

After her departure, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

The advocate continued that the penalty 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 will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.