Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted during a mass uprising in 2024, has told The Associated Press that she still plans to return to Bangladesh from exile in India next month, despite being sentenced to death for her government’s deadly crackdown on protesters.
Hasina fled to India after student-led demonstrations forced her from office and has remained there ever since.
In 2025, a Bangladeshi special tribunal sentenced her to death for crimes against humanity, finding her responsible for ordering the security crackdown that killed hundreds and injured thousands more.
The United Nations has reported that nearly 1,400 people were killed. Hasina denies committing any wrongdoing.
She has also rejected the tribunal’s verdict and questioned the legitimacy of the proceedings.
Bangladesh has repeatedly requested Hasina’s extradition, but India has declined to surrender her. She 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 emailed responses. “So, I will return to Bangladesh. That decision has not changed.”
The AP sent its questions last week, and Hasina replied on Wednesday.
Hasina, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2024, did not reveal how she would travel back from India. She could be arrested as soon as she enters 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 told the AP.
After Hasina’s removal from power, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge of an interim administration and led the country for the following 18 months.
In February, Tarique Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and one of Hasina’s longtime political rivals, won a landslide election held under Yunus’ administration. Hasina’s Awami League was barred from participating in the vote.
Hasina’s planned return comes as the Awami League faces an uncertain future amid a broad government crackdown. The party remains banned, while many of its senior figures have been arrested or forced into exile.
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Hasina claimed that at least 20,000 members of her party have been killed since August 2024, while thousands more have been arrested, tortured or forced into hiding.
She also said political affiliation had cost supporters their homes, businesses and livelihoods.
“There is no normal political or democratic environment,” she said, accusing the authorities of carrying out a systematic campaign to suppress the party.
Several rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have criticized Rahman’s government over alleged violations of civil and political rights in recent months.
The government says the arrests are based on specific criminal charges.
Asked whether she expected countries such as the United States and India to pressure Bangladesh to guarantee her safe return, Hasina said she was not seeking protection from foreign governments.
“I value friendship and cooperation with all nations. That has always been our (Bangladesh’s) foreign policy. But I do not need the blessing of a foreign power to return to my own country,” she said.
Global rights organizations and independent observers had previously raised concerns about the growing influence of radical groups that sought to silence liberal voices during the interim administration. Minority communities have also reported facing intimidation.
The Yunus-led government has denied those allegations. The current administration is also facing criticism over worsening law and order in Bangladesh.
Hasina, who took a hard-line approach toward radical groups during her 15 years in power, said she was troubled by the growing influence of hard-liners in the country.
“The present political environment has allowed extremist elements to become more confident,” she said.
The prime minister’s office Press Wing did not respond to the AP’s request for comment.
