Ousted former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced Wednesday that she intends to return to Bangladesh from exile in India in December, despite having been sentenced to death in absentia. Hasina, who fled to India in 2024 after student-led protests led to her ouster, addressed an event in New Delhi marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled her government.
She stated it was her duty to return to her people voluntarily, even with the conviction on charges of crimes against humanity. A Bangladeshi court sentenced Hasina to death in 2025 for ordering a crackdown on the 2024 uprising, during which the United Nations reported nearly 1,400 people were killed. Hasina denies any wrongdoing and has maintained her innocence.
Bangladesh has previously sought Hasina's extradition, but India has not complied. "I know that they may put me in jail, or they may kill me, or anything may happen, but still I have to go back," Hasina said in her address. "Fear cannot decide my duty to the people."
Hasina also called for the ban on her Awami League party to be lifted and for all political prisoners to be released.
Separately, the current Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated a memorial museum dedicated to the 2024 uprising on Wednesday. The July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum is located in Hasina's former official residence in Dhaka. The interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, launched the project. Yunus, who assumed office on August 8, 2024, three days after Hasina's removal, joined Rahman at the museum's inauguration.
The museum displays audio and video exhibits chronicling the uprising, along with personal items of those who died and newspaper clippings from the period. It also documents alleged political repression during Hasina's 15 years in power. Rahman, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Hasina's political rival, secured a landslide victory in February's elections under the interim administration overseen by Yunus. Hasina's Awami League was prohibited from participating in the elections.