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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity stemming from her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire 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 authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by investigative sources during the current year implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead 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 Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then 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 general election is set for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

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

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

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

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.