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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her severe measures on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for 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 revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid 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 enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque informed press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

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

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.