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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities stemming from her harsh response on protests led by students which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and wounded had called for tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under increased safeguards prior to the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, regional security representative the authorities' representative informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year began with calls to eliminate government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

Before the decision, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to news agencies they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "committed acts of vengeance and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am disappointed," he added.

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka informed news organizations. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

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

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "a form of contrition emerges and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.