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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her crackdown on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

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 celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations during the current year implied she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he added.

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the families of those killed and injured.

"We assist multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.