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

Sheikh Hasina was found guilty of permitting fatal actions to be used against activists, 1,400 of whom were killed during the unrest last year.

Legal proceedings were conducted while she was absent by the special international tribunal in Bangladesh, since she went into exile in India after being removed from office in July 2024.

Prosecutors accused her of being the mastermind of multiple fatalities during the protests. The former leader rejected all charges, describing the process as "biased and politically motivated".

This judgment represents a pivotal moment for Bangladesh, as the protests revealed fury over long-standing suppression. Next of kin of victims and harmed had called for strict sentences.

Responding to the decision in a comprehensive declaration, the former leader stated the death penalty was the caretaker administration's way of "nullifying [her party] the Awami League" as a governing body and that she was proud of her leadership's history on civil liberties.

"I have no trepidation to confront those accusing me in a just legal forum where the evidence can be weighed and reviewed impartially."

Bangladesh's main city, Dhaka, where the legal proceedings occurred, was under increased safeguards ahead of the decision on Monday, with many of Hasina's critics holding a protest and cheering as the sentence was declared.

The city has seen a recent spike in unrest, with numerous incendiary devices set off and coaches ignited in the time before the verdict.

At least one bomb explosion was recorded in Dhaka on Monday morning, with no casualties reported, area law enforcement officer Jisanul Haque informed press agencies.

The protest movement led by students in the previous year began with requests to remove public sector reservation policies but transformed into a more extensive dissent initiative.

United Nations rights examiners stated in a document in February that the around 1,400 fatalities could represent "human rights atrocities".

The paper detailed the firing at close quarters of a number of activists, the purposeful disabling of others, arbitrary arrests and torture.

Unauthorized recordings of one of Hasina's phone calls confirmed by media examinations in previous months implied she had approved the use of "deadly arms" in July 2024. The recording was presented in court during the trial.

Prior to the ruling, family members of those who died in the demonstrations told press outlets they wanted strict consequences for Hasina.

A family representative, whose family member was fatally wounded in July 2024, said he wanted "severe penalty" for the former leader and associates who have "performed revengeful deeds and misused their authority".

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

"Exclusively thereafter the kin of victims [in the protests] will achieve closure in their souls."

After her departure, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. A parliamentary election is planned for February 2026.

Nonetheless, the Awami League, the former ruling party, was banned by Bangladesh's caretaker administration in May.

The former leader cautioned last month that if the the League's representatives were prohibited from running in the upcoming election, numerous would avoid the election.

This decision presents a international dilemma for both nations. Dhaka has formally requested her repatriation but so far India has expressed no readiness to agree.

Hasina's state-appointed lawyer the defense lawyer said he was "disappointed and hoping the outcome had varied".

"I am unable to challenge because my defendants are not present; for that reason I am disappointed," he added.

Last week, the defense attorneys said they had lodged a prompt application to the UN highlighting serious fair trial and due process issues at the ICT.

The former leader faced trial in conjunction with her previous domestic affairs official and top law enforcement officer.

While the sentence provides certain resolution to families of killed in the protests, it may do little to soothe the nation's partisan rifts.

"The anger against Sheikh Hasina and the her political party has not decreased," a civil liberties campaigner in Dhaka told press agencies. "The leader and her faction has expressed regret or shown any remorse for the fatalities of countless citizens."

The advocate declared "It makes it difficult for the organization to receive endorsement by a bulk of the population in this country."

The activist added that the punishment was not closure for the relatives of those who died and were wounded.

"We assist multiple individuals who underwent irreversible limb loss, they are amputees now, as a result of the harsh measures. They will never be able to forgive her."

A journalist, an observer of Bangladeshi affairs, said the "very nature of the conviction could make it particularly hard" for Awami League to become a regular participant of the country's governance system again.

This might transform if "there is some kind of apology and a disassociation with Hasina and the previous administration," he stated.