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The country's previous leader has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the police spokesperson told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 commenced through demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews earlier this year implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

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

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

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

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.