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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 led to her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

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

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

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

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. 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 even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.