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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh 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, 1,400 of whom died during the unrest 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.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

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

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

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their souls."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.