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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

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 in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests informed news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

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

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital told media outlets. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We assist multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he said.