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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity over her severe measures on youth demonstrations which resulted in her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Families of those killed and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, Hasina said the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

"I am not afraid to face my accusers in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection prior to the verdict on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year started with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of others, unwarranted detentions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a call made by the former leader authenticated by investigative sources in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, relatives of those killed during the protests told media representatives they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Lucky Akther, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "carried out before the election".

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

Following her removal, an caretaker administration under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the vote.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but to date India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Her officially designated attorney the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he stated further.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

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

While the sentence provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may not significantly ease the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not subsided," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not resolution for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he expressed.