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The ex-prime minister of Bangladesh has been handed capital punishment for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on youth demonstrations which led to her ousting.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the disturbances last year.

The trial proceeded in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

The prosecution alleged of being the mastermind of hundreds of killings during the protests. She has refuted all charges, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a critical juncture for Bangladesh, as the protests unleashed anger over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and wounded had called for severe punishments.

Responding to the decision in a five-page statement, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was satisfied of her administration's performance on human rights.

"I do not fear to meet my challengers in a just legal forum where the facts can be assessed and examined justly."

The capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under enhanced protection before the ruling on Monday, with several of her detractors staging a rally and cheering as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in turmoil, with numerous incendiary devices set off and buses set on fire in the days leading up to the verdict.

A minimum of one detonation was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer the authorities' representative told press agencies.

The protest movement led by students last year started with demands to abolish government job quotas but morphed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors declared in an analysis in February that the approximately 1,400 deaths could represent "violations of human dignity".

The study recorded the firing at close quarters of some protesters, the purposeful disabling of further participants, unwarranted detentions and mistreatment.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews in previous months suggested she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the legal process.

Before the decision, family members of those who died in the demonstrations stated to media representatives they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "strict sentence" for Hasina and others who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Lucky Akther, whose partner was fatally injured near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Solely at that point the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their minds."

Since Hasina's ousting, an interim government headed by economic expert Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A national vote is planned for February 2026.

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

She alerted in the previous month that if the party's candidates were prohibited from running in the imminent electoral process, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a foreign relations issue for India and Bangladesh. Authorities have sought her return but so far India has expressed no readiness to acquiesce.

Her officially designated attorney her legal counsel said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I cannot even contest because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disappointed," he stated further.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial 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 nation's partisan rifts.

"The resentment towards the former leader and the her political party has not diminished," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or demonstrated contrition for the killings of hundreds of people."

The activist stated "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a majority of people in this country."

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

"We work with several people who suffered permanent amputations, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They are incapable of excusing her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a normal feature of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "there is some kind of apology and a distancing from the former leader and the old leadership," he stated.