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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations due to her crackdown on youth demonstrations which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, with approximately 1,400 individuals were killed during the disturbances during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated 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 casualties reported, local police official the authorities' representative stated to press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year began with demands to abolish state employment quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources in previous months implied she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, 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 misused their authority".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, millions would boycott the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

The previous week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this country."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

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