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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

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