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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations due to her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil last year.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

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

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader confirmed by investigative sources in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

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 exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

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

"We work with multiple individuals 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 "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.