Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently seeking asylum in India, announced her intention to return to Bangladesh this year, nearly two years after fleeing the country following student-led protests in August 2024. In an interview with NDTV, Hasina denounced her conviction for crimes against humanity and the death sentence handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal in November 2025, labeling the judicial process as politically motivated and an attempt to make the Awami League "leaderless." She asserted that her return is inevitable, despite facing persecution and past assassination attempts, and emphasized that the Awami League's resurgence is driven by the people's will, not government approval, indicating the party's recovery is already underway despite attempts to suppress its activities.

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently seeking asylum in India, announced her intention to return to Bangladesh this year, nearly two years after fleeing the country following student-led protests in August 2024. In an interview with NDTV, Hasina denounced her conviction for crimes against humanity and the death sentence handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal in November 2025, labeling the judicial process as politically motivated and an attempt to make the Awami League "leaderless." She asserted that her return is inevitable, despite facing persecution and past assassination attempts, and emphasized that the Awami League's resurgence is driven by the people's will, not government approval, indicating the party's recovery is already underway despite attempts to suppress its activities.

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently seeking asylum in India, announced her intention to return to Bangladesh this year, nearly two years after fleeing the country following student-led protests in August 2024. In an interview with NDTV, Hasina denounced her conviction for crimes against humanity and the death sentence handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal in November 2025, labeling the judicial process as politically motivated and an attempt to make the Awami League "leaderless." She asserted that her return is inevitable, despite facing persecution and past assassination attempts, and emphasized that the Awami League's resurgence is driven by the people's will, not government approval, indicating the party's recovery is already underway despite attempts to suppress its activities.

Exiled for nearly two years, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says she plans to return home 'this year.' Hasina, who is currently seeking asylum in India, fled the country following mass student-led anti-government protests in August 2024. 

In an interview with NDTV, the former Bangladesh PM said that the judiciary has been turned into an instrument of "political revenge" to make the Awami League "leaderless". 

"The verdict against me is part of an illegal, unconstitutional, and politically motivated process. The judiciary has been turned into an instrument of political revenge to make the Awami League leaderless. Such attempts have been made before. They failed then, and they will fail again,” she said in the interview.

Hasina, along with top Awami League officials, was convicted of crimes against humanity and was handed a death sentence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in November 2025. 

She also added that she does not fear death. "In 1975, I lost my parents, my brothers, and almost my entire family. On 21 August, there was an attempt to kill me with grenades," she said. "Overcoming every obstacle and every conspiracy, I will return to my country this year," she said. 

Hasina emphasised that her politics is for the welfare of the people of Bangladesh and the fulfilment of the dream of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to build a Sonar Bangla.

While speaking about the ban on the Awami League and the party's return, Hasina said that the political recovery of the Awami League does not depend on the favour of any government, but rather on the people. 

"Through an illegal ban, they may have kept the Awami League out of a staged election. They may have closed party offices. They may have temporarily suppressed political activities. But they have not been able to erase the Awami League from the hearts of the people. That is why the Awami League has already begun to rise again," she said. 

What are the challenges to Hasina's return? 

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman following the February 2026 elections—has explicitly stated that if she returns, she will not face extra-judicial measures but must immediately surrender to the judiciary and go to prison.

Furthermore, with the political framework that supported her 15-year rule largely gone, she lacks an active political machinery on the ground to shield her return. The interim government had officially banned her political party, the Awami League, and most of its leadership is now either imprisoned or in hiding. 

There is also diplomatic constraints. While Hasina continues to issue defiant statements and claim that she is managing her party from India, attempting a physical return would require navigating complex extradition pressures and a deeply hostile domestic environment. 

TAGS