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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

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

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

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

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister 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 country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he said.