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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil during 2024.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those who died in the demonstrations stated to 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 the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am sad," he continued.

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

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and police chief.

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.