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

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources during the current year implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

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

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

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

Hasina was tried alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing 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 her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.