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Bangladesh's former prime minister has been handed capital punishment for atrocities stemming from her crackdown on youth demonstrations which led to her removal from power.

Hasina was declared culpable of authorizing deadly measures to be used against activists, among whom around 1,400 people lost their lives during the turmoil during 2024.

Hasina was tried while she was absent by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh, as she resides in exile in India since she was forced from power in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of numerous deaths during the protests. Hasina has denied every accusation, calling the trial as "unfair and agenda-driven".

The decision signifies a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests brought forth resentment over long-standing suppression. Families of those killed and injured had demanded tough penalties.

Answering the judgment in a detailed document, she expressed the execution sentence was the caretaker administration's way of "eliminating her political faction" as a political force and that she was satisfied of her leadership's history on human rights.

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

The nation's capital, Dhaka, where the court convened, was under tightened security ahead of the verdict on Monday, with several of her detractors holding a protest and celebrating as the judgment was announced.

The city has seen a sudden increase in turmoil, with multiple explosives detonated and coaches ignited in the days leading up to the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no victims identified, area law enforcement officer the police spokesperson informed news organizations.

The student-led uprising last year started with requests to remove state employment quotas but transformed into a broader opposition campaign.

International human rights monitors said in a report in February that the nearly 1,400 casualties could constitute "crimes against humanity".

The study recorded the gunfire from minimal distance of certain demonstrators, the purposeful disabling of additional individuals, unwarranted detentions and torture.

Disclosed sound files of one of Hasina's phone calls verified by external reviews during the current year suggested she had approved the use of "fatal instruments" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

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

One relative, whose sibling was killed in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and exploited their positions".

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

"Only then the relatives of the deceased [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

Since Hasina's ousting, an caretaker administration led by economist Muhammad Yunus has assumed control. A general election is planned for February 2026.

Nevertheless, the her former political organization, the former ruling party, was prohibited by Bangladesh's temporary leadership in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the her faction's nominees were prohibited from running in the forthcoming vote, numerous would avoid the election.

The judgment creates a diplomatic challenge for India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has asked her extradition but until now India has demonstrated no inclination to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer Mohammad Amir Hossain said he was "disappointed and hoping the verdict had been different".

"I cannot even contest because my represented individuals are away; which is why I am disheartened," he continued.

The previous week, her legal team said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN pointing out significant due process and legal procedure concerns at the ICT.

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

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

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League has not subsided," a Dhaka-based rights activist stated to press agencies. "Both she and the organization has said sorry or displayed repentance for the fatalities of countless citizens."

She said "This complicates matters for the party to be accepted by a most citizens in this nation."

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

"We assist several people who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are now disabled, because of the suppression. They cannot pardon her."

A journalist, a commentator on the nation's politics, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it increasingly challenging" for the political faction to become a standard element of Bangladeshi politics again.

This may change if "an expression of regret occurs and a distancing from Hasina and the old leadership," he expressed.