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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, 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 casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.