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

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed 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 government's record on human rights.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations during the current year implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

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

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

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.