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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent 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 the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

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

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he said.