SRINAGAR: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she plans to return to Bangladesh around December despite the risk of arrest or death, telling Reuters that she and other exiled leaders of the Awami League intend to return voluntarily and surrender before the courts.
In an interview with Reuters, the 78-year-old leader, who has been living in India since a student-led uprising ousted her government in August 2024, said there had been no communication with the current authorities in Dhaka regarding her proposed return.
“They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me. Still, I have to go,” Hasina told Reuters.
She said her decision was motivated by concern for her party workers, alleging they were facing severe repression in Bangladesh.
“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 said.
Hasina’s announcement comes after Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death after convicting her of crimes against humanity. Despite the legal proceedings against her, she said she intends to surrender before the judicial courts upon her return.
Hasina resigned and fled to India by helicopter on August 5, 2024, after a student-led rebellion over the civil service quota system escalated into a broader anti-government movement. In November 2025, the reconstituted International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death after finding her guilty of ordering security forces to suppress the protests, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of around 1,400 people.
The Awami League was subsequently outlawed and barred from contesting future national elections. Hasina has rejected both the ban on her party and her conviction, describing them as politically motivated and unconstitutional.
