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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 forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence 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 responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

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

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews earlier this year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded 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 spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he said.