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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 youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her leadership's history 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."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the decision on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and applauding as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a notable rise in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative the authorities' representative stated to news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but transformed into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources earlier this year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those fatally injured in the unrest told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the Hasina's political party, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the decision had been otherwise".

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

Last week, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may not significantly ease the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

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

The advocate continued that the penalty was not closure for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with several people who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

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