Ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina plans to return in December, admits she could be ‘killed, arrested or tortured’ | Today’s news
Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country in August 2024 and has been in India since then, said in a virtual conference on Monday that she is ready to return to her country despite grave risks.
She said she had been targeted in her country in the past but was undeterred, India Today reported. She continued, “I’ve decided now…Yes, I know. If I go back, the moment I land, they can kill me, or they can arrest me and torture me.”
The ousted Bangladeshi prime minister said this while virtually attending an event organized by the Center for US-Bangladesh Relations in Washington, DC. Asked when she would return, Hasina told India Today, “I will return to Bangladesh in December,” adding, “it is my duty to go.”
Her remarks come months after she first announced her intention to return to Dhaka alone by December. However, she did not specify the exact date for Monday’s event.
Hasina announced a plan to return to Bangladesh
In her first virtual press conference held in Delhi on the second anniversary of her expulsion, she similarly argued for her return, saying: “Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people. I cannot stand aside while my beloved countrymen suffer.”
She admitted that she could be detained or jailed upon her return as she had been sentenced to death by a Bangladeshi court, but noted that “fear cannot decide my duty to the people”.
Hasina said that returning home and ensuring the Awami League’s participation in democratic politics was “not about power” but about the return of development, secularism and stability.
In separate interviews with Reuters and AFP in July, she acknowledged the risks of returning to Bangladesh. She said she and senior Awami League members plan to return in December and surrender before the courts. She told Reuters: “They can arrest me after my return; they can even kill me,” adding: “Still, I have to go. My party leaders and workers are under tremendous repression. If death comes, I want it to come on my own land, where my parents are buried and where their blood was spilled.”
Hasina thanks India
Hasina, who fled Bangladesh after student-led protests toppled her Awami League government, lives in exile in India. At a US-based press conference, she thanked the Indian government for providing her shelter.
She said, “I wasn’t ready to leave my country, but somehow I got here. I thank the Indian government and the people here.” Hasina further claimed that while more than 600 cases have been filed against her, the caretaker government in Dhaka has granted immunity to those actually responsible for the crimes.
Hasina faces the death penalty in Bangladesh
Hasina was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death in absentia by Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal in November 2025. The case related to the suppression of student-led protests in 2024. She denies the charges and claims the proceedings were politically motivated.
Both the former interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus and Rahman’s government have asked India for her extradition. New Delhi said it was reviewing the request through its judicial and internal legal procedures.
