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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 caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

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

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those killed during the protests stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, 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 exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party 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 expressed.