Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina announces plan to return to Bangladesh

By Reuters

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she will return to her country after two years in exile in India, despite facing the death penalty.

The 78-year-old, who was dramatically ousted following a brutal crackdown on protesters in 2024, made the announcement on Wednesday via video link at an event hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) of South ‌Asia, alongside her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and other Awami League leaders, including former Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel.

“I may be detained, I may be sent to prison. But fear cannot decide my duty to the people,” she said. “I cannot stay away while my beloved countrymen are suffering.”

She said the exact date of the return will be announced “when the time comes”, but she wants it to be in December this year.

Hasina’s added that the ban on her Awami League party should be lifted. Her son said they were not in contact with the current government.

Death penalty
Following Hasina’s failed bid to suppress the 2024 student-led revolution that had toppled her from power, she fled to New Delhi via helicopter and has not returned to Bangladesh since.

Last year, the ousted leader refused to attend her trial in Dhaka, where she was found guilty of incitement, ordering killings and failing to prevent atrocities. She was sentenced to hang for crimes against humanity.

Her promise to return comes as Bangladesh and India seek to repair strained ties.

However, with newly-elected Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in power, relations between the two neighbours have improved, and India has invited him to a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit of emerging economies in September.

Moreover, ahead of Hasina’s address, India’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, sought to distance New Delhi from it.

“The government has no involvement whatsoever in it, neither does it endorse any views that may be expressed at the forum,” he said.