GUWAHATI: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced that she intends to return to Bangladesh in December, despite facing a death sentence in her home country for crimes against humanity.
ALSO READ: No Dam Gates Have Been Opened In Bhutan, Assam Government Clarifies Amid Viral Flood Rumours
Speaking through an audio address broadcast to a gathering at a press club in New Delhi on the second anniversary of her ouster from power, Hasina said she was determined to return to Bangladesh regardless of the consequences, though she did not disclose the exact date of her return.
"I have to go back," she said, adding, "Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people. I cannot stay away while my beloved countrymen are suffering. I want to go back in the month of December."
Acknowledging the legal challenges awaiting her, the 78-year-old leader said she was prepared to face imprisonment or even death.
"They may kill me, put me in jail… I know I may get detained, I may be sent to prison, they may try to force politically motivated fabricated cases, but fear cannot decide my duty to the people," she said.
Hasina maintained that her decision to return was driven by a sense of responsibility towards the people of Bangladesh rather than a desire to regain power. She said she wanted to help restore the country's development, security, peace and economic progress.
During her address, Hasina alleged that the July-August 2024 protests that led to the collapse of her government were not a peaceful student movement but a coordinated campaign that used students as a cover for violence and regime change. She did not provide evidence to support the claim.
She also reiterated that the charges against her were politically motivated and called for the ban on her Awami League party to be lifted. She demanded the release of party leaders and workers and the withdrawal of cases filed against party members.
Hasina has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka in August 2024, when her government collapsed following a massive anti-government uprising.
In November 2025, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death in absentia for alleged crimes against humanity linked to her government's crackdown on the 2024 student-led protests. Bangladesh has since repeatedly sought her extradition from India to face trial.
The United Nations, however, has said its investigators found evidence that Hasina's government used systematic and deadly violence in an attempt to retain power during the unrest.
Meanwhile, the Indian government clarified on Tuesday that it had no role in Hasina's decision to hold a virtual media interaction from New Delhi.