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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected 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.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to 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 press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, 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 kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

After her departure, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration 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 vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told media outlets. "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 most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the families of those killed and injured.

"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."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he said.