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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

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

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns 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 not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance 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 state."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the old leadership," he stated.