Sheikh Hasina's planned return to Bangladesh

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has told The Associated Press (AP) that she will return to Bangladesh this December, despite a death sentence handed down by a special tribunal in 2025. Hasina, who has lived in India since being ousted in a student-led uprising in 2024, said she knows she may be arrested, imprisoned, tortured or killed on her return. The tribunal sentenced her for crimes against humanity over a crackdown on protesters in which a United Nations report put the death toll at nearly 1,400. Hasina denies wrongdoing and has rejected the verdict, questioning the legitimacy of the trial.

Tarique Rahman swept to power in the February election, which Hasina's Awami League was barred from contesting; the party remains banned. In the interview, whose answers reached the AP on November 4, 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, and she accused the authorities of systematically suppressing the party. The government says the arrests involve specific charges, and the prime minister's press wing did not respond to the AP's request for comment. Hasina also said she is concerned about the growing influence of hard-line elements. India has not handed her over despite Bangladesh's repeated extradition requests.