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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her government's record 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 tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those killed during the protests stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured 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 obtain solace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.