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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in disturbances, 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 casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt last year began with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations in previous months implied she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an interim government led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

Hasina warned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

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

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

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

"We work with numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.