‘They may even kill me’: Sheikh Hasina, facing death penalty, plans Bangladesh return in December
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina plans to return to her country in December this year and surrender, ending her two-year exile in India. In an
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina plans to return to her country in December this year and surrender, ending her two-year exile in India. In an interview with news agency Reuters, Hasina, who faces the death penalty in Bangladesh, said, “They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me.” "Still, I have to go," she said. “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 also shared that several of her Awami League party members will also return to Dhaka along with her. Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh in 2024 after protests ended her 20 years as prime minister across multiple terms. She has been sentenced to death for ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising by the war-crimes court. Hasina has denied the charges from exile. Her return to Bangladesh could sharpen political divisions as the newly formed Dhaka government seeks to restore stability after two years of upheaval.
On the other hand, it could improve strained ties with India. Bangladesh has repeatedly urged India to extradite her. In April, the External Affairs Ministry said it was examining Bangladesh's request to extradite her and that it wanted to “engage constructively with the new government and further strengthen bilateral ties.” Dhaka “wants to take me back” Hasina told Reuters that said she has not consulted with any foreign government on whether or when to return. This is the first time she has set out a timetable for her return and talked about her plan to surrender along with other exiled Awami League leaders, including former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who also faces a death sentence. The authorities in Dhaka “want to take me back, they are repeatedly sending letters to India seeking to have me sent back,” she told Reuters. “I will go myself.” She did not give a date for her return or say exactly when she would surrender or to what court. “I believe in justice and I feel that once proceedings start, it will be clear to the people how farcical the court is — and that I want to prove it.” Hasina, once a dominant figure in Bangladesh, fought for democracy early on and was credited with turning around the economy of the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million.
But her long rule generated accusations that her government had crushed dissent and dismantled democratic checks and balances — allegations she denies. The crackdown that led to her downfall killed as many as 1,400 people, according to a UN report. “Cases have been filed against almost all of our leaders and workers, and many of them are in hiding,” Hasina told Reuters from her exile home in Delhi. “So I said that this time I am returning home, and one day, all of you should come. All together, we will all surrender in court.” “Let the people decide” Hasina told Reuters that she had not been in touch with Dhaka over her plans to return. “Democracy, voting rights, the political rights of the Awami League and justice are not subjects for secret talks.” She said she was not worried about jail time, noting that she had been arrested several times before. After returning from exile in 1981 following her father's assassination, she was detained repeatedly during campaigns against military rule.
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