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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the disturbances last year.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews earlier this year suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "committed acts of vengeance and abused their power".

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

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has shown no willingness to comply.

Her officially designated attorney Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

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

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.