New Delhi [India], August 6 – Ousted former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced plans to return to Bangladesh in December despite facing a death sentence for crimes against humanity drawing a strong protest from Dhaka and further straining relations between Bangladesh and India.
Speaking through an audio address at an event in New Delhi on Wednesday marking the second anniversary of the 2024 uprising that forced her from power, Hasina said she would return voluntarily, describing it as her duty to the people despite the risks.
“I know that they may put me in jail or they may kill me or anything may happen, but still I have to go back” she said, adding that fear would not prevent her from fulfilling her responsibility. She also called for the ban on her Awami League party to be lifted and demanded the release of political prisoners.
Bangladesh reacted sharply saying it was “outraged” that Hasina addressed the media from Indian soil. In a statement the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the event insulted the victims of the 2024 July Revolution, undermined Bangladesh’s sovereignty and was harmful to bilateral ties with India.
Hasina fled to India in August 2024 after student-led protests ended her 15-year rule. A Bangladeshi court sentenced her to death in 2025 over the deadly crackdown on demonstrators during which the United Nations said nearly 1,400 people were killed. Hasina has denied the charges while India has declined repeated requests from Bangladesh to extradite her.
On the same day, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum in Dhaka housed in Hasina’s former official residence and dedicated to those killed during the 2024 uprising.
