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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted all charges, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had demanded strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

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

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students during 2024 began with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

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

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader verified by investigative sources earlier this year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her repatriation but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

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

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

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

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.