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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the turmoil during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire 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 student-led uprising last year commenced through requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.