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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

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

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews earlier this year implied she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer 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 continued.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

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

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.