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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for atrocities stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and injured had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the ruling 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 disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors 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 a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he continued.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, 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 the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.