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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the unrest during 2024.

Hasina was tried without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year began with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the intentional injuring of others, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

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

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am sad," he continued.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We support numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.