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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in unrest, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader authenticated by external reviews during the current year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those killed during the protests informed press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Following her removal, an interim government under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the penalty was not closure for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.