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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her harsh response on student-led protests which caused her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told media outlets.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am disappointed," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

While the sentence offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the her political party has not diminished," a human rights advocate from the capital informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

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

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the previous administration," he expressed.