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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had requested severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

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

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 commenced through 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 amount to "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those killed during the protests informed 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 abused their power".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The activist added that the penalty was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.