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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations due to her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the turmoil during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" 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 Hasina's sentence 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 temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not finality for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.