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

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

The trial proceeded without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being responsible for numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "biased and politically motivated".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a political force and that she was content of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I have no trepidation to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security prior to the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics organizing a demonstration and applauding as the sentence was declared.

The capital witnessed a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with zero injuries documented, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

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

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "crimes against humanity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the deliberate maiming of others, arbitrary arrests and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of a call made by the former leader verified by external reviews earlier this year indicated she had sanctioned the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, kin of those killed during the protests told press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" 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 the former leader's punishment to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Following her removal, an temporary leadership headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A general election is scheduled for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the Awami League, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

She alerted during the past month that if the party's candidates were banned from standing in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the ballot.

The verdict now poses a foreign relations issue for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but until now India has shown no willingness to acquiesce.

The legal representative assigned to her the defense lawyer said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I even cannot appeal because my clients are absent; that's why I am sad," he stated further.

Recently, 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 former home minister and police chief.

Even though the verdict offers some closure to relatives of the deceased in the protests, it may do little to soothe the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a human rights advocate from the capital stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

The advocate continued that the sentence was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.