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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations over her severe measures on youth demonstrations which caused her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, with approximately 1,400 individuals lost their lives during the unrest in the previous year.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India following her ouster in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being behind numerous deaths during the protests. The former leader rejected the entire case, labeling the proceedings as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over extended periods of oppression. Relatives of the deceased and injured had requested tough penalties.

Reacting to the verdict in a five-page statement, Hasina said the death penalty was the temporary leadership's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was content of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under increased safeguards before the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and cheering as the verdict was read.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in disturbances, with multiple explosives detonated and buses set on fire in the period preceding the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative stated to media outlets.

The protest movement led by students last year started with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators declared in an analysis in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could amount to "violations of human dignity".

The report documented the shooting at point-blank range of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations during the current year indicated she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

A different family member, whose spouse died 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 achieve closure in their minds."

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

However, the Hasina's political party, her political faction, was prohibited by Bangladesh's interim government in May.

The former leader cautioned in the previous month that if the party's candidates were barred from participating in the imminent electoral process, countless would abstain the vote.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "sad [and wishes] the outcome had varied".

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

Recently, her legal team said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

Hasina was tried alongside her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment offers some closure to kin of victims in the protests, it may have minimal effect on calming the country's political divisions.

"The fury directed at the former leader and the her political party has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist told press agencies. "Neither she nor the party has said sorry or shown any remorse for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this country."

The campaigner further stated that the penalty was not finality for the families of those killed and injured.

"We support several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "fundamental aspect of the condemnation could make it particularly hard" for her party to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the previous administration," he said.