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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her harsh response 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, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil in the previous year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured 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 find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

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

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

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

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.