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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which led to her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the turmoil during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by media examinations during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

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

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her repatriation but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

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

"I cannot even contest because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her ex-interior minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

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

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.