Ready to surrender: Sheikh Hasina plans December return to Bangladesh despite life threats

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jul 10, 2026: Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been pronounced a death sentence in her country, told Reuters on Friday that she is planning to return to her home along with her senior party colleagues in December and surrender.

Hasian said she and members of her party, Awami League, which has been banned in the country, are planning to return voluntarily to the country and present themselves in court.

In 2024, Hasina was forced from power after weeks of student-led nationwide protests that escalated into one of the biggest political crises in Bangladesh’s history. She had served the country as the prime minister for 20 years across multiple terms.

In November, the country’s war-crimes court sentenced her to death over allegations of ordering a deadly crackdown on the student-led protests. Hasina had denied the charges from exile.

‘If Death Comes, I Want It To Come On My Own Soil’

Announcing her plans to return to Bangladesh in December, 78-year-old Hasina told Reuters, “They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me."

“Still, I have to go. 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," she added.

‘I Leave Judgment To The People’

According to media reports, several Awami League workers have faced arrest, legal cases and physical attacks after her government was toppled.

Hasina said she had not yet informed the Bangladesh government about her plans to return. “Democracy, voting rights, the political rights of the Awami League and justice are not subjects for secret talks," she said.

The former prime minister said that she was not worried about getting arrested, as she has been in prison several times before.

She added that she had to flee from the country because she was facing threats on her life as the protesters were advancing towards her residence.

“When a government works for a long time, mistakes can happen — no government is above error. 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," Hasina said.

She added that she had conducted online meetings covering 125 of Bangladesh’s 300 parliamentary constituencies in order to reorganise the Awami League.

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

Hasina’s Exile Fuels Diplomatic Strain Between India, Bangladesh

Hasina fled Bangladesh in 2024 after a student-led uprising brought an end to her two-decade rule as prime minister across multiple terms. In November, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia over the deadly crackdown on the protests. Hasina has denied the charges and has been living in exile in India since her ouster.

Her proposed return is likely to deepen political fault lines in Bangladesh, where the interim government has been attempting to restore stability after nearly two years of political turmoil.

It could also have implications for Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi, which have remained strained since India granted refuge to the former prime minister.

Bangladesh has repeatedly sought Hasina’s extradition from India.

In her first interview since going into exile, Hasina said she had not held discussions with any foreign government regarding her return.

This is not the first time she had decided on a timeline to return.

“The authorities in Dhaka ‘want to take me back, they are repeatedly sending letters to India seeking to have me sent back’. I will go myself," Hasina said.

In April, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it was examining Bangladesh’s extradition request and wanted to “engage constructively with the new government and further strengthen bilateral ties."

From Democracy Campaigner To Exiled Leader

Hasina has remained one of Bangladesh’s most influential political figures since the assassination of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founding leader, and much of her family in a military coup in 1975.

After returning from exile in 1981, she emerged as a key face of the movement against military rule and was detained several times during pro-democracy campaigns.

In 2007, she was jailed on corruption charges by a military-backed caretaker government before being released and returning to power with a decisive electoral victory in 2008.

While Hasina was widely credited with overseeing Bangladesh’s economic transformation, particularly its garment export industry, her government also faced sustained criticism from opponents and rights groups, who accused it of suppressing dissent and weakening democratic institutions, allegations she has consistently denied.

According to a UN report, the crackdown on the 2024 student-led protests that eventually forced her from office left as many as 1,400 people dead.

“Cases have been filed against almost all of our leaders and workers, and many of them are in hiding," Hasina told Reuters from her residence 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 added.

Hasina did not specify when she would return or the court before which she planned to surrender. “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," she said.