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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

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

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not closure for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.