Sheikh Hasina Vows Return To Bangladesh Despite Death Sentence

DHAKA (GNP): Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said she intends to return to the country in December despite facing a death sentence there for crimes against humanity, a pledge she made during her first public interaction with the media since being ousted from power two years ago.

Hasina, who was tried in absentia after fleeing to India during the 2024 uprising that ended her 15-year rule, addressed reporters over an audio link during a virtual press conference hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Delhi, marking the second anniversary of her removal from office.

She said she was prepared to return regardless of the risk, telling the gathering she understood she could face imprisonment or death but felt she had no choice but to go back, though she did not disclose specific plans or a date for her return. In her remarks, she also alleged that unnamed organisations had turned the 2024 student protests into a violent movement, without offering supporting evidence, and continued to describe the charges against her as politically motivated.

United Nations investigators, however, found evidence that Hasina and her government relied on systematic, deadly violence in an effort to hold onto power, and a phone call verified by BBC Eye captured her authorising the crackdown on demonstrators, a recording prosecutors later used as key evidence in her conviction.

The UN has estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed, most by gunfire from security forces, during protests that began as a student-led movement against government job quotas before growing into a nationwide uprising that forced Hasina to flee Dhaka as demonstrators stormed government buildings, including her official residence.

An interim administration took charge in the aftermath, before the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won elections in February and installed its leader, Tarique Rahman, as prime minister. His government had instructed local media not to publish or broadcast Hasina’s remarks ahead of the event, and afterward said it was outraged that India had allowed her to participate in a public media appearance, with the foreign ministry stating that Bangladesh would not return to what it described as the country’s past authoritarian rule nor allow itself to become dependent on another state.

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Hasina’s continued presence in Delhi has strained relations between the two countries, with Dhaka pressing for her extradition and India saying the request remains under review.

Analysts say a return to Bangladesh would carry significant risk for Hasina personally, since she would likely face immediate arrest, and could also trigger political unrest, with supporters of the ruling BNP, the student-led National Citizens Party, Islamist groups and others expected to demand her sentence be enforced. At the same time, members of her own Awami League party argue the stakes of her staying away are also severe.

The party’s activities were banned shortly after Hasina fled and it was barred from contesting February’s election, and party leaders say hundreds of supporters have been killed in mob violence, with dozens more dying in the custody of security forces, allegations Dhaka officials reject as evidence of systematic targeting.

Some within the party have grown frustrated that senior leaders left the country while mid-level members remained exposed to violence, a dynamic analysts say may be pushing Hasina toward a return despite the danger, as her long-term relevance to Bangladeshi politics may depend on facing the situation at home directly.