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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The youth-driven revolt last year commenced through demands to abolish state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader authenticated by media examinations during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

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

Following her removal, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not closure for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the previous administration," he said.