Hasina Vows to Return to Bangladesh in December

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has confirmed she intends to return to Bangladesh from exile in India next month. She made the announcement in an interview with The Associated Press, stating that her decision to come home has not changed.

Hasina has been based in India since she fled the country in 2024. At that time, a mass uprising led by students forced her out of power after she served as prime minister from 2009 to 2024. She has remained in India ever since the protests ended her tenure.

The former leader faces a death sentence from a Bangladeshi special tribunal. In 2025, the court found her responsible for ordering a crackdown on protesters, a move that resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. The United Nations reported that nearly 1,400 people were killed during the violence. Hasina denies any wrongdoing and has challenged the legitimacy of the trial.

India has declined repeated requests from Bangladesh to extradite Hasina. She first announced her plan to return in August, specifying a December timeline. In her response to questions submitted last week and answered on Wednesday, she did not detail how she would cross the border or what specific plans she had for the journey.

"If death is my destiny, I would rather die on the soil of my own country, among my own people," Hasina said. "So, I will return to Bangladesh. That decision has not changed."

She acknowledged the risks of her return, including the possibility of immediate arrest, imprisonment, or torture. "I know that I may be arrested when I return. I may be imprisoned, tortured or even killed. I am fully aware of those possibilities. But I cannot spend the rest of my life watching my people suffer from a distance," she stated.

The political climate in Bangladesh has shifted since Hasina's ouster. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus led an interim administration for 18 months. In February, Tarique Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, won a landslide election. Hasina's Awami League party was barred from contesting that vote. The party remains banned now, with senior leaders either arrested or in exile.

Hasina alleges that at least 20,000 party members have been killed since August 2024. She said thousands have been arrested or forced into hiding, and that supporters have lost homes and businesses due to their political affiliations. "There is no normal political or democratic environment," she said, accusing authorities of systematically suppressing her party.

Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have criticized Rahman’s government for assaults on civil and political rights. The government maintains that the arrests involve specific charges. Hasina said she does not seek foreign protection from nations like the United States or India. "I do not need the blessing of a foreign power to return to my own country," she said.

The Press Wing of the prime minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Hasina expressed concern about the growing influence of hard-liners in the country, noting that the current environment has allowed extremist elements to become more confident.