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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities stemming from her severe measures on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under enhanced protection before the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, regional security representative Jisanul Haque informed news organizations.

The protest movement led by students last year commenced through requests to remove state employment quotas but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by investigative sources in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests informed media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

A different family member, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "carried out before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

Since Hasina's ousting, an temporary leadership under the guidance of economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted last month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

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

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

The former leader faced trial together with her former home minister and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The anger against the former leader and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the killings of hundreds of people."

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

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not finality for the families of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.