Sheikh Hasina, the ousted former prime minister of Bangladesh, said she intends to return to her country despite a death sentence handed down in her absence. Speaking in an audio address at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi, the 78-year-old, who served five terms as prime minister, declared: “Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people.”
Hasina fled to India two years ago by helicopter after weeks of mass protests in 2024 that, according to a U.N. estimate, left nearly 1,400 people dead. In her first public remarks since leaving Bangladesh, she said she expected detention, imprisonment or attempts to enforce what she described as “verdicts issued in fabricated cases,” but added that fear would not determine her duty to the people.
Her audio address was delivered on the second anniversary of her ouster. Her son, Sajeeb Wazed, joined parts of the event via video link from Washington, D.C. Hasina reiterated that she denies wrongdoing during the unrest and called the unrest a “coordinated assault on the constitutional order,” blaming organized violence, hidden instructions and propaganda for the chaos.
Analysts and critics dispute her characterization. Ali Riaz, a professor of political science at Illinois State University, said the uprising was a reaction to decades of harsh rule. Citing the U.N. findings, Riaz said state institutions were used against civilians and argued that the high toll in a short period reflected the ferocity of actions taken under Hasina’s government.
After her departure, Hasina’s Awami League party was banned. In 2025 a Dhaka tribunal convicted her in absentia on multiple charges, including alleged crimes against humanity related to the crackdown, and sentenced her to death. Hasina has called the verdict legally void and has maintained her innocence.
She announced she plans to return to Bangladesh in December. Legal experts and observers say her arrival would likely trigger immediate action by authorities. “Her conviction stands, there was no appeal, and she is a fugitive. She will have to be taken immediately to jail,” Riaz said.
The event in New Delhi drew diplomatic reaction. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it was not involved in organizing the press conference, and Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said Dhaka “deeply regrets” that the event took place in India despite its objections. Hasina’s exile has been a source of tension between Bangladesh and India, even as New Delhi has expressed a desire to repair bilateral ties.
Student-led protests and calls for Hasina’s trial have continued in Bangladesh, with demonstrators frequently demanding accountability for the 2024 crackdown. The dispute over responsibility for that violence and the legal consequences for Hasina remain central to the country’s volatile political landscape as she publicly prepares for a return.