Sheikh Hasina says she will return to Bangladesh despite death sentence

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said she plans to return to Bangladesh in December, despite facing a death sentence there for crimes against humanity. She made the remarks in an audio broadcast from Delhi on the second anniversary of her ouster, telling reporters that she "had to go back" but would not yet give exact travel plans or dates. The comments mark her first meeting with the media since she was toppled after 15 years in power.

Sponsored

Hasina, 78, fled Dhaka during an anti-government uprising in 2024 and has been living in India since then. She was tried in absentia after a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death last year for ordering lethal force to be used on protesters. She denies the charges and says they are politically motivated.

In her address, she also alleged that several organisations had turned the 2024 student protests into a "violent movement", without providing evidence. The case remains one of the most serious legal and political challenges facing Bangladesh's post-uprising transition. United Nations investigators have said they found evidence that Hasina and her government tried to cling to power using systematic, deadly violence.

Prosecutors used a verified audio recording of a phone call, in which she was heard authorising the crackdown on demonstrators, as crucial evidence in her conviction. The UN has estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed during the protests, most by gunfire from security forces. The unrest began as a student-led movement against quotas in government jobs before expanding into a mass uprising.

Sponsored

Tens of thousands of demonstrators later stormed government buildings, including Hasina's official residence, forcing her departure and plunging the country of more than 170 million people into crisis. Soon after she was toppled, an interim government took charge. Her return pledge comes as her Awami League party has been weakening and as pressure has grown on Indian officials to extradite her.

The political backdrop has continued to shift since her removal from office. Elections in February brought the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to power, with its leader Tarique Rahman now prime minister. That change has added another layer to the dispute over Hasina's future, her legal status and the prospects for her party.

The reported defacement of her images in Dhaka also suggests the depth of public anger that still surrounds her rule. What remains unclear is whether Hasina will actually travel back to Bangladesh in December, and if so, under what conditions. She did not give a precise date or say how she would enter the country.

#SheikhHasina #Bangladesh #deathsentence #crimesagainsthumanity #AwamiLeague

Sponsored