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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity stemming from her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) 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. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

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

The youth-driven revolt last year began with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he added.

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

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.