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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations due to her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body 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 proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

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

The protest movement led by students last year began with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed 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 partner was fatally injured 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 achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

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

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

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

"The fury directed at Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, 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 "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

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