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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom were killed during the turmoil during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, Hasina said the capital punishment was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded 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 victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations during the current year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

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

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

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

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he stated further.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her ex-interior minister and security forces head.

Even though the verdict provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this country."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, 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 normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.