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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

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

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

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

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to media outlets. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

The activist added that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.