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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 student-led protests which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

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

One relative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed media outlets. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We assist numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from the former leader and the previous administration," he stated.