Politics
Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she remains determined to return to her homeland next month, in December, at any cost, despite living in exile in India since being ousted from power following mass protests in 2024.
Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she remains determined to return to her homeland next month, in December, at any cost, despite living in exile in India since being ousted from power following mass protests in 2024. She has been sentenced to death over allegations that she ordered deadly crackdowns on protesters during her time in office. Hasina fled to India after being removed from power by student-led protests and has remained there ever since. In 2025, a special tribunal in Bangladesh convicted her of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death. The court held her responsible for ordering a crackdown on protesters that left hundreds dead and thousands injured.
According to a United Nations report, approximately 1,400 people were killed during the crackdown.
In an interview with the Associated Press (AP), Sheikh Hasina denied any wrongdoing and rejected the tribunal’s verdict, questioning the legal legitimacy of the proceedings. Bangladesh has repeatedly requested Hasina’s extradition from India, but New Delhi has refused to hand her over to Dhaka. Hasina first announced her intention to return to Bangladesh in December this year in August. Responding to questions from the AP by email, she said: “If death is written in my destiny, I would prefer to die on the soil of my own country, among my own people. That is why I will return to Bangladesh. My decision has not changed.” Hasina, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2024, did not disclose how she intended to return from India. She could face arrest upon arriving in Bangladesh. “I know I could be arrested upon my return. I could be imprisoned, tortured or even killed. I am fully aware of all these possibilities. But I cannot spend the rest of my life sitting far away and watching my people suffer,” she told the AP.
Hasina’s statement about her planned return comes as her party faces an uncertain political future amid government action against it. The Awami League remains banned, while several of its senior leaders have been arrested or forced into exile. Hasina alleged that at least 20 members of her party had been killed since August 2024, while thousands had been arrested, tortured or forced into hiding. She said the homes, businesses and livelihoods of her supporters had also been destroyed because of their political affiliation. “There is no normal political or democratic environment in the country,” she said. She also accused the authorities of systematically suppressing her party.
Several human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have criticized the government of Bangladesh’s current Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in recent months over alleged violations of civil and political freedoms. The Dhaka government, however, says arrests are being made on the basis of specific allegations and legal proceedings.
Asked whether she expected countries such as the United States and India to put pressure on Bangladesh to ensure her safe return, Hasina said she was not seeking protection from any foreign country. “I value friendship and cooperation with all countries. This has always been our (Bangladesh’s) foreign policy. But I do not need the support or permission of any foreign power to return to my own country,” she said.
