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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

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

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over years of repression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and tested fairly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; which is why I am sad," he added.

The previous week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting significant due process and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

She said "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this nation."

The activist added that the penalty was not closure for the families of those killed and injured.

"We assist multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the former hierarchy," he said.