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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil during 2024.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told news organizations.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

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 kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

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

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, her political faction, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

Hasina warned last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. Authorities have sought her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this state."

The activist added that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.