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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her forced departure.

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

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the intentional injuring of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources during the current year indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist told media outlets. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not resolution for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he said.