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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 began with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

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

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.