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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

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

Reacting to the verdict 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 satisfied of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off 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, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

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

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 misused their authority".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he added.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.