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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations stemming from her crackdown on protests led by students which caused her removal from power.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people died during the turmoil in the previous year.

Hasina was tried in absentia by the International Crimes Court in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and harmed had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, the former leader stated the execution sentence was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a electoral entity and that she was content of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to face my accusers in a fair court where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics staging a rally and cheering as the judgment was announced.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and coaches ignited in the period preceding the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year started with calls to eliminate public sector reservation policies but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by media examinations during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the proceedings.

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

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

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 achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

However, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; that's why I am disheartened," he stated further.

Recently, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising major judicial fairness and judicial process problems at the ICT.

Legal proceedings involved Hasina in conjunction with her former home minister and security forces head.

While the sentence grants partial finality to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the state's ideological splits.

"The fury directed at Hasina and the the former ruling faction has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a most citizens in this state."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not closure for the kin of those killed and injured.

"We support multiple individuals who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the country's governance system again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a separation from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.