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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities over her severe measures on protests led by students which resulted in her removal from power.

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

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had requested strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a detailed document, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, regional security representative the police spokesperson told news organizations.

The student-led uprising in the previous year started with requests to remove state employment quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, kin of those killed during the protests informed press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will obtain solace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the her faction's nominees were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising significant due process and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and police chief.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims in the protests, it may not significantly ease the nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a bulk of the population in this state."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We assist numerous persons who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They cannot pardon her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from the former leader and the former hierarchy," he said.