Sheikh Hasina vows to return to Bangladesh in December despite death sentence

Sheikh Hasina says she will return to Bangladesh next month despite a death sentence. Her pledge risks immediate arrest as the banned Awami League faces sustained pressure.

Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said she remains committed to returning home from exile in India next month, despite facing a death sentence over her government's crackdown on protesters, reports news agency Press Trust of India.

Hasina, who was removed from power after a mass uprising in 2024, said she was aware that she could be arrested, imprisoned, tortured or killed after her return but did not want to remain abroad while her supporters suffered.

Hasina fled to India after student-led protests forced her from power and has lived there since then. A Bangladeshi special tribunal sentenced her to death in 2025 for crimes against humanity, ruling that she had ordered the crackdown in which hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured.

A United Nations report said nearly 1,400 people were killed. Hasina has denied wrongdoing, rejected the tribunal's verdict and challenged the legitimacy of the trial.

Bangladesh has repeatedly sought her extradition, but India has declined to hand her over. Hasina first announced in August that she intended to return in December.

"If death is my destiny, I would rather die on the soil of my own country, among my own people," she told The Associated Press in an email response, according to PTI. "So, I will return to Bangladesh. That decision has not changed."

The questions were sent to her last week, and she responded on Wednesday. Hasina, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2024, did not disclose how she planned to return from India. She could be arrested upon arrival in Bangladesh.

"I know that I may be arrested when I return. I may be imprisoned, tortured or even killed. I am fully aware of those possibilities. But I cannot spend the rest of my life watching my people suffer from a distance," she said.

After Hasina's removal, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge of an interim administration and led the country for the next 18 months. In February, Tarique Rahman, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and a long-time political rival of Hasina, won a landslide election held under the Yunus administration. Hasina's Awami League was barred from contesting the election.

Hasina's planned return comes as the Awami League faces an uncertain future amid a crackdown. The party remains banned, while senior leaders have been arrested or forced into exile.

Hasina claimed that at least 20,000 party members had been killed since August 2024, while thousands had been arrested, tortured or forced into hiding. She said supporters had also lost their homes, businesses and livelihoods because of their political affiliations.

"There is no normal political or democratic environment," she said, accusing the authorities of systematically suppressing her party.

Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have criticised Rahman's government over assaults on civil and political rights in recent months. The government, however, has said the arrests relate to specific charges.

Asked whether she expected countries such as the United States and India to pressure Bangladesh to ensure her safe return, Hasina said she was not seeking foreign protection.

"I value friendship and cooperation with all nations. That has always been our foreign policy. But I do not need the blessing of a foreign power to return to my own country," she said.

Global rights groups and independent observers had earlier raised concerns about the rise of radical groups that sought to suppress liberal forces during the interim administration. Minority groups have also said they faced intimidation. The Yunus-led government denied the allegations, while the current government has faced criticism over the country's worsening law and order situation.

Hasina, who took a tough stance against radical groups during her 15 years in power, said she was concerned about the growing influence of hardliners in Bangladesh. "The present political environment has allowed extremist elements to become more confident," she said.

The press wing of the prime minister's office did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

Hasina has maintained that she will return to Bangladesh next month despite the death sentence and the possibility of arrest, as her banned party faces a crackdown and its leaders and supporters remain under pressure.