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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on student-led protests which resulted in her forced departure.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest during 2024.

The trial proceeded while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. Hasina has denied the entire case, calling the trial as "prejudiced and driven by politics".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over years of repression. Families of those killed and harmed had demanded strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the interim government's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the facts can be assessed and reviewed impartially."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security before the decision on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina organizing a demonstration and celebrating as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a sudden increase in turmoil, with dozens of bombs exploded and buses set on fire in the time before the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year started with demands to abolish public sector reservation policies but morphed into a wider anti-government movement.

United Nations rights examiners said in a report in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could constitute "violations of human dignity".

The paper detailed the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of others, unjustified apprehensions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls authenticated by investigative sources in previous months implied she had authorized the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Prior to the ruling, kin of those who died in the demonstrations told media representatives they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

One relative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "executed before the election".

"Exclusively thereafter the families of those killed [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an interim government headed by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed power. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted during the past month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, millions would boycott the vote.

The verdict now poses a international dilemma for India and Bangladesh. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but until now India has shown no willingness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "sad [and wishes] the decision had been otherwise".

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

Recently, Hasina's lawyers said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out serious fair trial and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official 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 Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the faction to gain approval by a bulk of the population in this nation."

The advocate continued that the penalty was not finality for the kin of those fatally and non-fatally harmed.

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They are incapable of excusing her."

An analyst, a journalist and a long-time Bangladesh watcher, said the "inherent character of the guilty verdict could make it even more difficult" for her party to become a standard element of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "a form of contrition emerges and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the former hierarchy," he expressed.