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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her harsh response on youth demonstrations which caused her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against protesters, with approximately 1,400 individuals died during the turmoil during 2024.

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 behind multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected every accusation, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over extended periods of oppression. Next of kin of victims and injured had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the execution sentence was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was content of her leadership's history on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under tightened security ahead of the ruling on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

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

A minimum of one detonation was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the police spokesperson stated to media outlets.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 started with demands to abolish government job quotas but evolved into a wider anti-government movement.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "human rights atrocities".

The study recorded the shooting at point-blank range of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of others, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by investigative sources during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

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

Ramjan Ali, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "committed acts of vengeance and misused their authority".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Following her removal, an caretaker administration under the guidance of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

The judgment creates a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her extradition but so far India has expressed no readiness to comply.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my clients are absent; for that reason I am sad," he added.

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

The former leader faced trial 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 nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a human rights advocate from the capital informed news organizations. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This creates challenges for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not finality for the families of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We work with numerous persons who lost their limbs forever, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This could alter if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the previous administration," he expressed.