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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her harsh response on protests led by students which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers 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 before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by media examinations during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.