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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader confirmed by external reviews during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.