Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, facing a death sentence back home where her party is banned, told Reuters she and senior party colleagues plan to return from exile ‌in India around December and surrender.

The South Asian nations longest-serving leader said she and members of her Awami League aim ​to return voluntarily to the country they fled two years ago and present themselves in court, testing Bangladesh’s handling of its most ⁠prominent political opponent.

“They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me,” Ms. Hasina, 78, said in the nearly hour-long telephone interview late on Thursday (July 9) and into Friday (July 10).

“Still, I have to go,” she said. “My party leaders and workers are being subjected to tremendous repression. If death comes, I want it to come on my own soil, where ‌my parents are buried and where their blood was shed.”

Ms. Hasina fled Bangladesh in 2024 after protests ended her 20 years as Prime Minister across multiple terms. The country’s war-crimes court sentenced her in November to death in her absence for ‌ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising. She has denied the charges from exile.

A return could sharpen political divisions in the country ‌as ⁠the government in Dhaka seeks to restore stability after two years of upheaval. On the other hand, it could improve strained ties ⁠with India, which deteriorated sharply after Indian government gave her refuge.

Bangladesh has repeatedly urged Indian government to extradite her.

Ms. Hasina, who has fielded written questions from news outlets but not previously given an interview during her exile, said she has not consulted with any foreign government on whether or when to return.

This is the first time she has set out a timetable for her return, ​said she plans to surrender or said other exiled Awami League ‌leaders would do so. Among them, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal also faces a death sentence. Reuters could not contact the other party members or establish where they were.

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.”

Spokespeople for the Bangladesh government did not respond to requests for comment on Ms. Hasina’s remarks.

Foreign Ministry in India did not ‌respond to a request for comment. In April, the Ministry said it was examining Bangladesh’s request to extradite her and that it ​wanted to “engage constructively with the new government and further strengthen bilateral ties”.

Allegations of crushing dissent

Ms. Hasina was a dominant figure in Bangladesh for half a century after being thrust into the spotlight by the assassination of her father, an independence ⁠leader, and much of her family in a military coup.

She fought for democracy early on and was credited with turning around the economy of the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million, but her long rule generated accusations that her government had crushed dissent and dismantled democratic checks and balances — allegations she denies.

The crackdown that led ‌to her downfall killed as many as 1,400 people, according to a U.N. report.

“Cases have been filed against almost all of our leaders and workers, and many of them are in hiding,” Ms. Hasina told Reuters from her exile home in Delhi. “So I said that this time I am returning home, and one day, all of you should come. All together, we will all surrender in court.”

She declined to give a date for her return or say exactly when she would surrender or to what court.

“I believe in justice and I feel that once proceedings start, it will be clear to the people how farcical the court is — and that I want to prove it.”

Many Awami League workers have faced arrest, legal cases ‌and physical attacks since her government was toppled, according to media reports and government officials.

Ms. Hasina said she had not been in touch with Dhaka over her plans to return. “Democracy, voting rights, ​the political rights of the Awami League and justice are not subjects for secret talks.”

She said she was not worried about jail time, noting that she had been arrested several times before.

After returning from exile in 1981 following her father’s assassination, she was ⁠detained repeatedly during campaigns against military rule. She was jailed again in 2007 by a military-backed caretaker government on corruption charges before being freed and winning elections in ⁠2008.

Leading her to flee this time, she said, were threats on her life as crowds advanced towards her residence.

Hasina on Awami League

“When a government works for a long time, mistakes can happen — no government is above error,” she said. “But the right to judge the good and bad, the ‌right and wrong of a government belongs to the people. I leave that judgment to the people.”

Ms. Hasina said she has held online meetings covering 125 of Bangladesh’s 300 parliamentary constituencies as part of efforts to reorganise the Awami League.

“They may have convicted me, and I may not be ​able to contest elections,” she said. “But why should they suspend the Awami League? If we have done badly, let the people decide.”

Published – July 10, 2026 05:24 pm IST

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Sheikh Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 has ordered the execution by hanging of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal after finding them guilty of genocide committed during the July-August 2024 violence in a case involving crimes against humanity. At the same time, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun who turned state witness and testified before the tribunal against the former Prime Minister and Home Minister has been sentenced to five years in prison after admitting his involvement.

ICT verdict on Hasina LIVE: Death sentence to ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, former Minister Kamal in students crackdown case

On Monday (November 17, 2025), the three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Mozumder, read the summary of 453-page verdict consists of six sections in absence of Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan. The other members of the tribunal are Justice Md. Shafiul Alam Mahmood and Md. Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury. ICT started reading the verdict at around 12:30 p.m. Bangladesh Television broadcasted the verdict live from the courtroom of ICT-1. Earlier, Prosecutor Tajul Islam had appealed for the highest punishment for Sheikh Hasina in this case.

Former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was brought before the Tribunal at around 9:10 a.m., in a prison van under heavy security. Mir Mahbubur Rahman Snigdha, brother of Mir Mugdha who was killed during the July uprising, came to hear the verdict at the tribunal where he said, “For the injustice and brutality committed by Sheikh Hasina, even a thousand death sentences would not be enough. It is not only necessary to announce the verdict, but she must also be brought back to the country as soon as the verdict is delivered, and the punishment must be executed on the soil of this country.”

From job quota to Sheikh Hasina’s resignation: Timeline of the Bangladesh student protests

Leaders and activists from various political and social organisations gathered outside the International Crimes Tribunal as the verdict in the case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was being read out. A group of students also gathered in the TSC area of Dhaka University. They were seen chanting slogans demanding the execution of Sheikh Hasina.

Unrest has erupted in several parts of the country surrounding the verdict. A two-day lockdown called by Sheikh Hasina’s Party Bangladesh Awami League has been observed for the last two days. The party activists brought out processions in several places protesting the verdict. Several Awami League leaders and activists have also been arrested. Crude bombs were also blasted in same places including in front of the office of National Citizen Party (NCP) that led the July uprising against Hasina last year.

Centering the verdict, Dhaka is on high alert, heavy security has been deployed around the International Crimes Tribunal. From the Supreme Court premises to the tribunal compound, members of the Army, police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been positioned in large numbers. Since Monday morning (November 17, 2025), the tribunal and its surrounding areas have been placed under a tight security cordon. Security personnel were seen maintaining strict vigilance around the Supreme Court. Army members were seen stationed near the Mazar Gate in the capital, while police, RAB, and other law enforcement units patrolled both inside and outside the tribunal premises. Under the initiative of Ministry of Cultural Affairs, large screens were set up at key locations across the capital to broadcast the proceedings, allowing the public to follow the verdict in real time.

The verdict has also been streamed live for audiences around the world. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Sajjat Ali has instructed police personnel to open fire if anyone attempts to torch vehicles or hurl crude bombs that endanger lives.

Ahead of the verdict, a group of protesters claiming affiliation with an organisation called “Red July” brought two excavators to demolish the remaining portions of the house of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi-32 in Dhaka around at 12 noon. Army and police charged batons on the protesters. At least two sound grenades were lobbed to disperse the protesters.

Following the fall of Awami League government on August 5, 2024, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) was reconstituted. The first case (a miscellaneous case) taken up by the reorganised tribunal regarding crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising was filed against Sheikh Hasina. On October 17, 2024, the first hearing of the reconstituted tribunal was held, and on the same day, an arrest warrant was issued against Sheikh Hasina.

Initially, Sheikh Hasina was the sole accused in the case. On March 16, 2025, the prosecution sought to include former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun as a co-accused along with Sheikh Hasina, and the tribunal granted the request. After several extensions, the tribunal’s investigation agency submitted the investigation report to the Office of the Chief Prosecutor on May 12, 2025. On June 1, 2025, the prosecution submitted formal charges against all three accused.

Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan remain fugitives and former IGP Abdullah Al-Mamun is the only accused under arrest. On the day charges were framed (July 10), Mamun admitted involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the mass uprising and applied to become an “approver” (state witness). Arguments in the case began on October 12 and concluded on October 23. Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam demanded the death penalty for Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan for crimes against humanity during the July uprising.

State-appointed lawyer Md. Amir Hossain represented fugitive accused Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman. In arguments, he sought acquittal for both. The lawyer for approver Abdullah Al-Mamun, Zayed Bin Amjad, also sought acquittal. The prosecution listed 81 witnesses. Of them, 54, including Abdullah Al-Mamun and the investigation officers, testified before the tribunal. The prosecution’s charge sheet was 135 pages long, accompanied by 8,747 pages of documents and evidence.

A total of five charges have been brought against Sheikh Hasina and the two other accused in the case. These include: delivering inciting speeches; ordering the elimination of protesters using lethal weapons; the shooting and killing of Abu Said, a student of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur; the shooting and killing of six protesters in the Chankharpul area of the capital; and the killing of six people by burning them in Ashulia.

Published – November 17, 2025 03:26 pm IST

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters