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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil in the previous year.

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

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for tough penalties.

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

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year commenced through demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations informed news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, countless would abstain the ballot.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

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

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

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

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

"We work with numerous persons who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he stated.