Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Reuters that she and senior Awami League colleagues plan to return from exile in India around December and surrender in Bangladesh. Hasina, who faces a death sentence in Bangladesh where her party is banned, said she would return voluntarily despite the risk of arrest or death.
Planned return from exile
Hasina, 78, said in a telephone interview late on Thursday and into Friday that she and members of her Awami League intended to return to the country they fled two years ago and present themselves in court.
“They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me,” Hasina said. “Still, I have to go.”
She said party leaders and workers were facing severe repression and that if she were to die, she wanted it to happen in Bangladesh, where her parents are buried.
Charges and political backdrop
Hasina fled Bangladesh in 2024 after protests ended her 20 years as prime minister across multiple terms. In November, Bangladesh’s war-crimes court sentenced her to death in absentia for ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising. She has denied the charges from exile.
Reuters reported that her return could intensify political divisions in Bangladesh as the government in Dhaka seeks to restore stability after two years of upheaval. It could also affect ties with India, which worsened after New Delhi gave her refuge.
Extradition requests and other party leaders
Bangladesh has repeatedly urged India to extradite Hasina. She said authorities in Dhaka were repeatedly sending letters to India seeking her return.
“The authorities in Dhaka want to take me back, they are repeatedly sending letters to India seeking to have me sent back,” she said. “I will go myself.”
Hasina said she had not consulted any foreign government on whether or when to return. She also said other exiled Awami League leaders planned to surrender, including former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who also faces a death sentence.
Reuters said it could not contact the other party members or establish where they were.
