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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which resulted in her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures 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 special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had requested severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection ahead of the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque stated to press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but evolved into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by external reviews during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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

"Only then the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

After her departure, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is scheduled for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

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

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

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

"We support several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he stated.