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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 forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

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

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

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

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.