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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general 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 during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not resolution for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.