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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which resulted in her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

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

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this nation."

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

"We support numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.