Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that she and other exiled Awami League leaders are planning to return to Bangladesh of their own free will around December. He said that if he goes to Bangladesh, he may be arrested or killed. Sheikh Hasina, 78, had fled to India after the violent student rebellion in August 2024. She said that she wants to surrender before the court upon returning to Bangladesh. However, he has not had any contact with the authorities in Dhaka regarding his plan to return to Bangladesh. Hasina further said that her life is in danger, but she will still return to her country.
Sheikh Hasina In November 2025, he was sentenced to death in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh for his alleged role in the crackdown on 2024 student protests. He has denied the allegations.
In an interview with news agency Reuters, Sheikh Hasina said that she was ready to be arrested or even killed, but wanted to return to her country. His statement came when Dhaka is demanding his extradition from India. Sheikh Hasina said that she will return despite the death sentence.
In an almost hour-long telephone interview with Reuters, Sheikh Hasina said that she and senior Awami League colleagues intend to return to Bangladesh around December and surrender before the court. My party's leaders and workers are being subjected to extreme oppression. If death comes, I want it to come to my own land, where my parents are buried and where their blood was shed.”
This comes weeks after Hasina told a news outlet that she would return to Bangladesh and the statement to Reuters is the first time Hasina has publicly set a timeline for her return or said that other senior Awami League leaders would also "surrender". According to Reuters report, those expected to return include former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who may also be sentenced to death.
Hasina fled Bangladesh in August 2024, when a major student-led rebellion ended her two-decade rule as prime minister for several terms. She is living in India after New Delhi granted her asylum. This step brought a lot of tension in the relations between India and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal later sentenced Hasina to death in absentia in November 2025 for her crackdown on anti-government protests. Hasina has consistently denied allegations of excesses.
Dhaka, first under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and now under the BNP government led by Prime Minister Tariq Rahman, has repeatedly requested India to extradite Hasina. He said, “The authorities in Dhaka want to take me back, they are repeatedly sending letters to India to send me back.” She further said, “I will go myself.”
Sheikh Hasina said that she wanted to surrender because she believed that legal action would expose what she described as politically motivated cases.
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