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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity stemming from her severe measures on protests led by students which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest last year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, describing the process as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and injured had called for strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors organizing a demonstration and cheering as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative told media outlets.

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

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Leaked audio of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by external reviews in previous months suggested she had sanctioned the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests told news agencies they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for her and co-accused who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he continued.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told media outlets. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not closure for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

An analyst, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.