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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with calls to eliminate government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

Another relative, 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 families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date 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 am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition 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 security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. 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 the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.