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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the disturbances in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted 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 behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

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

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We support several people who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.