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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations due to her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest last year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the death penalty was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year began with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused 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 Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

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

Nevertheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was outlawed 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 imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disappointed," he stated further.

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

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

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

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he said.