Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced her intention to return to Bangladesh in December, despite being sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity. Hasina, who maintains her innocence, fled to India in 2024 during an anti-government uprising.
Speaking via an audio broadcast from Delhi on the second anniversary of her ouster, Hasina stated, "I had to go back." While she did not disclose specific plans or dates, her declaration signals a significant gamble as her Awami League party faces internal divisions and Indian officials are under pressure to extradite her. A special tribunal in Dhaka convicted her last year for ordering the use of lethal force against protesters.
This virtual press conference in Delhi marked Hasina's first media engagement since her 15-year tenure in power concluded. "I know that they may put me in jail or they may kill me, anything may happen, but still I have to go back," she stated during the audio address.
Hasina alleged that certain organizations transformed the 2024 student protests into a "violent movement," though she provided no evidence to support this claim. She has consistently rejected the charges, labeling them politically motivated. However, United Nations investigators found evidence suggesting that Hasina and her government employed systematic, deadly violence to retain power. A phone call, verified by BBC Eye, captured Hasina authorizing a lethal crackdown on demonstrators, which prosecutors presented as crucial evidence in her conviction.
The UN estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed during the protests, primarily by gunfire from security forces. The protests, initially a student-led movement against quotas in government jobs, escalated into a mass uprising. Hasina, 78, fled Dhaka as tens of thousands of demonstrators protested and occupied government buildings, including her official residence, plunging the nation of over 170 million into crisis.
An interim government assumed control shortly after her removal. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, came to power following elections in February of this year, with Rahman now serving as prime minister. Hasina's planned return and public statements have strained relations between India and Bangladesh, with Dhaka requesting her extradition, a matter India is currently reviewing. The Bangladeshi government has expressed outrage that India permitted Hasina to address the media and issued a statement asserting that "Our people have firmly resolved that our nation will never again go back to the dark days of fascism and that Bangladesh will never be a client state."