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Agence France-Presse

Bangladesh’s fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina said she was determined to return to her country by December despite fearing for her life.
“I may be killed. I may be arrested. I may be sent to prison,” Hasina, 78, said in an email. “I am fully aware of my fate. Still, I want to go back because my people are calling me.”
Toppled in August 2024 by a student-led uprising that ended her 15-year, iron-fisted rule, Hasina fled by helicopter to India as crowds stormed her palace. The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as she tried to cling to power.
In November, Hasina was found guilty by a Dhaka court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to be hanged – a verdict she described as “political vengeance dressed up as law”.
The former prime minister, who has been living in a secret location in India, insisted there was no pressure for her to return.

Relations between India and Bangladesh, strained under the interim administration that took power after Hasina’s fall, have stabilised since Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took office in February. Dhaka has formally requested Hasina’s extradition – a request New Delhi has said is “under examination”.
Hasina said the issue had “no connection” with her decision to return. “I can say that I am staying in India with due respect and dignity,” she said. “Indian authorities have not discussed extradition with me. I myself have decided to return to my country.”
Rights groups have long accused Hasina’s administration of a litany of abuses, including the murder of rivals, suppression of opposition parties, rigged courts and one-sided elections.
But Hasina defended her record, saying many of the allegations were “politically constructed campaigns”.
“Every time allegations were made, investigations were opened and those involved in crimes were brought to justice.”
Hasina also dismissed allegations that she sanctioned excessive force during the student protests that led to her ousting. “My government showed the highest level of patience and tried to guide the student movement towards a peaceful solution,” she said.
She characterised the uprising as more than “merely an ordinary student protest”.
“It had become a planned operation driven by hidden instructions, organised violence, propaganda and the objective of overthrowing the government,” she said.

She refused to comment on the nationwide youth-led protests in India that forced the education minister to resign last week.
Asked if she planned to resume political activity upon her return – with her Awami League party effectively banned in Bangladesh – Hasina did not offer a direct answer. “Power is not my destination. Service to the people is,” she said.
Hasina said she had “sympathy for every family that lost a loved one” but stopped short of offering an apology.
She also sidestepped questions about whether she regretted any of her decisions during the uprising. “Decisions of state are not made by one person alone, and they cannot be judged honestly by isolating one moment from the whole crisis,” she said.


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Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina vows to return despite believing she ‘may be killed’

Sheikh Hasina speaks to the media a day after she wins the 12th parliamentary elections in Dhaka on January 8, 2024. Photo: AFP

Tarique Rahman arrives to address an election rally ahead of the country’s general election in Dhaka on February 8. Photo: AFP

Some of the students who protested against Sheikh Hasina’s “misrule” mark her birthday by throwing shoes at her caricature on September 28, 2024. Photo: Shaikh Azizur Rahman

Sheikh Hasina’s return bid threatens to upend Bangladeshi politics

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's then prime minister, attends a security conference in Munich in 2024. Photo: dpa

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairman Tarique Rahman addresses a rally in Dhaka in February ahead of the country’s general election. Photo: AFP

Supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party attend a rally in Dhaka in February ahead of Bangladesh’s general election. Photo: AFP

India’s education minister quits in major win for youth protesters

Indian Youth Congress party workers hold placards of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during a protest against the National Testing Agency over alleged exam irregularities in Mumbai on June 2, Photo: AFP

Cockroach Janta Party supporters celebrate the resignation of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: AFP

India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi in 2023. Pradhan quit on Saturday after countrywide protests demanding he resign ‌to take responsibility for examination paper leaks. Photo: AFP

India’s ‘cockroach’ protests reveal a deeper social mobility crisis

A child holds a placard during a gathering in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party to celebrate the resignation of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in Mumbai on July 26. Photo: AFP

A man holds a placard during a victory gathering organised by the All India Students’ Association in Bengaluru on July 26, a day after the resignation of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities. Photo: AFP

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Supporters of the youth-led satirical political movement CJP take part in a demonstration at the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: EPA

CJP founder and President Abhijeet Dipke takes part in a demonstration at the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: EPA

CJP supporters enter a metro station after celebrating the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

CJP protesters hold up posters during a rally in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: EPA

India’s ‘cockroach’ protests: a rare political opening for the opposition?

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is detained by police during a sit-in protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, demanding accountability for police action against students, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Police detain demonstrators during a sit-in outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (front left), opposition leader Rahul Gandhi (centre) and fellow lawmakers during a protest march and sit-in near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

A supporter of India’s Cockroach Janta Party, while wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, holds a piece of paper with a message, in Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

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The ex-prime minister sidesteps the question of her return to politics, saying: ‘Power is not my destination. Service to the people is’


The ex-prime minister sidesteps the question of her return to politics, saying: ‘Power is not my destination. Service to the people is’.


Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina vows to return despite believing she ‘may be killed’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The ex-prime minister sidesteps the question of her return to politics, saying: ‘Power is not my destination. Service to the people is’

The ex-prime minister sidesteps the question of her return to politics, saying: ‘Power is not my destination. Service to the people is’