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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

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

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

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

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

Hasina was tried together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he said.