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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities due to her crackdown on protests led by students which led to her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil in the previous year.

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind multiple fatalities during the protests. She has refuted every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a electoral entity and that she was proud of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I am not afraid to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the proof can be evaluated and tested fairly."

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

The city has seen a recent spike in disturbances, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was reported in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year commenced through demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

UN human rights investigators said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could amount to "human rights atrocities".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina authenticated by media examinations earlier this year indicated she had authorized the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Before the decision, kin of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "engaged in retaliatory actions and abused their power".

Another relative, whose husband was killed near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted her penalty to be "executed before the election".

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

Following her removal, an caretaker administration headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A national vote is set for February 2026.

However, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

She alerted in the previous month that if the the League's representatives were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

The verdict now poses a diplomatic challenge for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "unhappy and desiring the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disheartened," he stated further.

Last week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and due process issues at the ICT.

Hasina was tried in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the nation's partisan rifts.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to news organizations. "Both she and the organization has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this country."

The activist added that the sentence was not resolution for the relatives of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We support several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are currently without limbs, as a result of the harsh measures. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with the former leader and the former hierarchy," he expressed.