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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 ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by media examinations during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

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