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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

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

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

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

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

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

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

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

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

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.