Sheikh Hasina vows to return to Bangladesh in December despite death sentence

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reaffirmed her plan to return home this December, despite a death sentence handed down by a special tribunal in 2025. Hasina, who has lived in exile in India since being ousted in a student-led uprising in 2024, told The Associated Press (AP) in an email interview that she knows she may be arrested, imprisoned, tortured or killed on her return. She first announced the plan in August and has not said how she would travel from India. The AP received her answers on Wednesday, November 4.

A contentious political landscape

As reported by The Kathmandu Post, The Hindu and Gorkhapatra, Hasina said that if death is her destiny, she would rather it came on her own soil among her own people. Hasina, who led Bangladesh from 2009 to 2024, was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over the crackdown on protesters. A United Nations report put the death toll in that crackdown at nearly 1,400 people. Hasina denies wrongdoing and has rejected the tribunal's verdict, questioning the legitimacy of the trial.

After an 18-month interim administration led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, an election was held in February, and Tarique Rahman, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, swept to power. Hasina's Awami League was barred from contesting the election and remains banned; several of its senior leaders have been arrested or forced into exile.

Allegations of suppression

Hasina alleged that at least 20,000 members of her party have been killed since August 2024, and that thousands more have been arrested, tortured or driven into hiding. She accused the authorities of systematically suppressing the party. The prime minister's press wing did not respond to the AP's request for comment. The government says the arrests involve specific charges. Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have criticised the current government over civil and political rights, and it also faces criticism over a deteriorating law-and-order situation.

Hasina also said she is concerned about the growing influence of hard-line elements, saying the present political environment has made extremist elements more confident. Rights groups and independent observers had raised concerns about radical groups and attempts to suppress liberal voices during the interim administration, and minority groups said they faced intimidation. The Yunus-led administration denied those allegations.

Bangladesh has repeatedly sought Hasina's extradition, but India has not handed her over. Asked whether she expected countries such as the United States and India to press Bangladesh to ensure her safe return, Hasina said she did not seek protection from foreign powers. She said she values friendship and cooperation with all nations but does not need a foreign power's blessing to return to her own country.