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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for crimes against humanity due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, 1,400 of whom died during the disturbances last 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.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had called for tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under enhanced protection ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

The city has seen a sudden increase in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque told media outlets.

The student-led uprising during 2024 started with calls to eliminate state employment quotas but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners declared in an analysis in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Leaked audio of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by external reviews in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, relatives of those killed during the protests informed 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 "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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

"Solely at that point the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was banned by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the election.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for both nations. Authorities have sought her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

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

"I even cannot appeal because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he continued.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Even though the verdict grants partial finality to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the faction to gain approval by a majority of people in this state."

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

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the nation's political landscape again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.