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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

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

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had demanded severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, Hasina said the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her government's record on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards before the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the authorities' representative informed media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year began with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the intentional injuring of further participants, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, 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 "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence 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 economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but to date India has shown no willingness to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the decision had been otherwise".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried together with her former home minister and security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The resentment towards Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this nation."

The activist added that the punishment was not finality for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist multiple individuals who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he said.