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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence 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 the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year began with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader confirmed by media examinations during the current year implied she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

Another relative, whose spouse died 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 souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

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

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.