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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the turmoil last year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt last year began with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

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 misused their authority".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

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

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this nation."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Hasina and the old leadership," he said.