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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and wounded had requested tough penalties.

Responding to the decision in a detailed document, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

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

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 commenced through requests to remove government job quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the legal process.

Ahead of the verdict, relatives of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for her and co-accused who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and misused their authority".

A different family member, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

"Only then the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their souls."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership led by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was outlawed by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

She alerted last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

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

Hasina was tried alongside her former home minister and police chief.

While the sentence grants partial finality to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has apologised or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The advocate declared "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

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

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, 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 Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.