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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations due to her harsh response on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

The court convicted Sheikh Hasina of permitting fatal actions to be used against demonstrators, 1,400 of whom lost their lives during the disturbances in the previous year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths 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 brought forth resentment over years of repression. Next of kin of victims and injured had called for strict sentences.

Reacting to the verdict in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the interim government's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her government's record on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where the proof can be evaluated and reviewed impartially."

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 staging a rally and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The capital witnessed a recent spike in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and public transport vehicles burned in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was noted in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official the authorities' representative informed press agencies.

The student-led uprising last year started with requests to remove government job quotas but morphed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

UN human rights investigators stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of certain demonstrators, the intentional injuring of additional individuals, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Disclosed sound files of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by media examinations during the current year suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those killed during the protests stated to press outlets they wanted the former leader to face strict penalties.

A family representative, whose brother was shot dead in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and abused their power".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted Hasina's sentence to be "carried out before the election".

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

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

Nonetheless, the Awami League, Hasina's political party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

Hasina warned in the previous month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the vote.

The judgment creates a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her repatriation but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to comply.

The legal representative assigned to her Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my represented individuals are away; that's why I am sad," he continued.

Last week, her legal team said they had submitted an immediate petition to the UN raising serious fair trial and judicial process problems at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial together with her previous domestic affairs official and security forces head.

Although the punishment provides certain resolution to kin of victims 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 civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told news organizations. "The leader and her faction has apologised or demonstrated contrition for the deaths of numerous individuals."

The activist stated "It makes it difficult for the party to be accepted by a majority of people in this state."

The activist added that the penalty was not resolution for the families of those killed and injured.

"We assist several people who lost their limbs forever, they are currently without limbs, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for the political faction to become a normal feature of the nation's political landscape again.

This could alter if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he stated.