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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for human rights violations due to her crackdown on youth demonstrations which resulted in her forced departure.

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of allowing lethal force to be used against protesters, among whom around 1,400 people were killed during the turmoil during 2024.

Legal proceedings were conducted without her presence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, having been exiled in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Legal authorities charged her of being behind hundreds of killings during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, describing the process as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The verdict marks a decisive point for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had requested strict sentences.

Answering the judgment in a comprehensive declaration, she expressed the capital punishment was the temporary leadership's way of "eradicating the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her government's record on individual freedoms.

"I am not afraid to meet my challengers in a fair court where the evidence can be weighed and examined justly."

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the tribunal took place, was under tightened security prior to the verdict on Monday, with numerous opponents of Hasina staging a rally and applauding as the sentence was declared.

Dhaka experienced a notable rise in disturbances, with dozens of bombs exploded and public transport vehicles burned in the days leading up to the verdict.

One explosive incident was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, local police official Jisanul Haque stated to news organizations.

The youth-driven revolt during 2024 began with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but evolved into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors stated in a document in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could represent "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of a number of activists, the deliberate maiming of further participants, unjustified apprehensions and abuse.

Unauthorized recordings of a telephone conversation involving Hasina confirmed by media examinations during the current year indicated she had authorized the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The sound file was broadcast in court during the proceedings.

Ahead of the verdict, family members of those fatally injured in the unrest stated to press outlets they wanted Hasina to be punished severely.

Ramjan Ali, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "exemplary punishment" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

Another relative, whose spouse died near Dhaka in August 2024, said she wanted the former leader's punishment to be "implemented before the election".

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will find peace in their hearts."

After her departure, an temporary leadership headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A national vote is set for February 2026.

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

Hasina warned last month that if the her faction's nominees were barred from participating in the forthcoming vote, millions would boycott the ballot.

This decision presents a international dilemma for the neighboring countries. Dhaka has formally requested her return but to date India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

The legal representative assigned to her her legal counsel said he was "unhappy and desiring the verdict had been different".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; which is why I am disheartened," he continued.

Last week, Hasina's lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN pointing out major judicial fairness and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial alongside her ex-interior minister and police chief.

Although the punishment offers some closure to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against the former leader and the Awami League has not decreased," a Dhaka-based rights activist informed press agencies. "Both she and the organization has expressed regret or demonstrated contrition for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "This complicates matters for the organization to receive endorsement by a most citizens in this state."

The campaigner further stated that the punishment was not resolution for the kin of those who died and were wounded.

"We support multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, due to the crackdown. They will never be able to forgive her."

David Bergman, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it even more difficult" for Awami League to become a regular participant of Bangladeshi politics again.

This might transform if "an expression of regret occurs and a disassociation with Sheikh Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.