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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 led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court 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. The former leader rejected all charges, 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. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited 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 the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

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

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We support numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.