'Ready To Surrender': Sheikh Hasina Plans December Return To Bangladesh Despite Life Threats

Published 10 July 2026 · world

'Ready To Surrender': Sheikh Hasina Plans December Return To Bangladesh Despite Life Threats Published By, Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 13:55 IST Ousted Bangladeshi PM

'Ready To Surrender': Sheikh Hasina Plans December Return To Bangladesh Despite Life Threats Published By, Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 13:55 IST Ousted Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina, sentenced to death, plans to return home with party colleagues in December and surrender. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (AP File) Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been pronounced a death sentence in her country, told Reuters that she is planning to return to her home along with her senior party colleagues in December and surrender. Hasian said she and members of her party, Awami League, which has been banned in the country, are planning to return voluntarily to the country and present themselves in court. In 2024, Hasina was forced from power after weeks of student-led nationwide protests that escalated into one of the biggest political crises in Bangladesh’s history. She had served the country as the prime minister for 20 years across multiple terms.

In November, the country’s war-crimes court sentenced her to death over allegations of ordering a deadly crackdown on the student-led protests. Hasina had denied the charges from exile. ‘If Death Comes, I Want It To Come On My Own Soil’ Announcing her plans to return to Bangladesh in December, 78-year-old Hasina told Reuters, “They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me." “Still, I have to go. My party leaders and workers are being subjected to tremendous repression. If death comes, I want it to come on my own soil, where my parents are buried and where their blood was shed," she added. ‘I Leave Judgment To The People’ According to media reports, several Awami League workers have faced arrest, legal cases and physical attacks after her government was toppled. Hasina said she had not yet informed the Bangladesh government about her plans to return. “Democracy, voting rights, the political rights of the Awami League and justice are not subjects for secret talks," she said.

The former prime minister said that she was not worried about getting arrested, as she has been in prison several times before. She added that she had to flee from the country because she was facing threats on her life as the protesters were advancing towards her residence. “When a government works for a long time, mistakes can happen — no government is above error. But the right to judge the good and bad, the right and wrong of a government belongs to the people. I leave that judgment to the people," Hasina said. She added that she had conducted online meetings covering 125 of Bangladesh’s 300 parliamentary constituencies in order to reorganise the Awami League. “They may have convicted me, and I may not be able to contest elections. But why should they suspend the Awami League? If we have done badly, let the people decide," Hasina said.