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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 allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson informed media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

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

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews during the current year indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

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

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the her political party has not diminished," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

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

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.