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

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in disturbances, 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, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt in the previous year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest told 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 "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her extradition but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; which is why I am disappointed," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We assist several people 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 journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.