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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which caused her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the unrest during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on individual freedoms.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year started with requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those who died in the demonstrations stated to news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for both nations. The Bangladesh government has asked her return but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The anger against Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the sentence was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We assist multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.