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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her severe measures on youth demonstrations which caused her removal from power.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of allowing lethal force to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the turmoil last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being responsible for multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was proud of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and celebrating as the verdict was read.

Dhaka experienced a recent spike in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina verified by external reviews in previous months indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

Ramjan Ali, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and exploited their positions".

A different family member, whose partner was fatally injured 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 obtain solace in their hearts."

Following her removal, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A general election is set for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the her former political organization, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the upcoming election, countless would abstain the ballot.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for the neighboring countries. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my represented individuals are away; for that reason I am disheartened," he continued.

Recently, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

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

Although the punishment grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The resentment towards Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has apologised or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this nation."

The advocate continued that the punishment was not finality for the relatives of those killed and injured.

"We work with several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for Awami League to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "a form of contrition emerges and a separation from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he said.