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The country's previous leader has been given a death sentence for human rights violations over her severe measures on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

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

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

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

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

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

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.