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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her severe measures on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

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

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the punishment 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 now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.