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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 caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security before the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The student-led uprising last year started with requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will obtain solace in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he added.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this nation."

The activist added that the penalty was not closure for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he expressed.