Will return to Bangladesh but ‘could be killed’: Bangladesh’s former PM Hasina

Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told AFP 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 response to questions by AFP.

“I am fully aware of my fate. Still, I want to go back because my people are calling me.”

Last November, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in Dhaka for alleged “crimes against humanity” over her government’s brutal crackdown on student-led protests in 2024.

Hasina has dismissed the death penalty, criminal convictions and charges against her as “politically motivated”.

Since the verdict, Dhaka has been urging New Delhi to extradite her to face the law.

(With inputs from AFP and PTI)