Sheikh Hasina, the ousted and exiled former prime minister of Bangladesh, has announced plans to return to her home country despite facing a death sentence for crimes against humanity. Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday evening, Ms. Hasina said she was determined to go back to Bangladesh, acknowledging the risks of detention or imprisonment but insisting that her duty to the people outweighed her fears. The announcement coincided with the second anniversary of her removal from power following a student-led revolt in August 2024.
The former leader, aged 78, spoke emotionally during her first public address since being deposed after 15 years in office. She highlighted the suffering of the Bangladeshi people and expressed her resolve to return, suggesting she might do so as early as December. “Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people,” she said.
Ms. Hasina's government was toppled after a crackdown on protesters in 2024 resulted in the deaths of as many as 1,400 people, many of them students, according to the United Nations. Ms. Hasina disputes these figures but was sentenced to death in absentia in November by an International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) established under the former caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
The current Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, which came to power earlier this year under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman following elections in which Ms. Hasina’s Awami League was barred from participating, condemned the press conference. It had urged the Indian government to prevent the event and warned local media that broadcasting her speech violated ICT regulations prohibiting dissemination of her statements. Ms. Hasina’s advisers indicated the event was audio-only, rather than livestreamed, due to political sensitivities.
Dhaka responded with strong condemnation, issuing a statement early Thursday denouncing India’s decision to allow the press conference. The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry described Ms. Hasina as an "absconding convicted genocider" and said her public interaction on Indian soil during the July Revolution anniversary was an affront to Bangladesh’s sovereignty and an insult to the revolution’s martyrs. The statement warned of “ramifications” for bilateral relations and suggested prospects for improving ties between the two neighboring countries might now be jeopardized.
India, which provided Ms. Hasina with safe haven following the political upheaval in Bangladesh, rejected any role in organizing the press event. Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government had “no involvement whatsoever” and did not endorse the views expressed.
Relations between Bangladesh and India have deteriorated significantly since Ms. Hasina’s ouster, aggravated by Delhi’s refusal to extradite her. While there had been recent signals of willingness to reset diplomatic ties, the latest developments have cast doubt on the future of cooperation between the two governments.
Ms. Hasina’s tenure, beginning in 2009, was initially marked by significant economic growth driven by manufacturing and garment exports. However, her administration drew criticism for increasing political repression, cronyism, and the erosion of democratic freedoms in its later years.