DHAKA: Ousted former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina has declared she will return home this year, dismissing a death sentence handed down against her in absentia and describing the verdict as politically motivated.
The 78-year-old leader, who fled to India following a student-led uprising that toppled her government in August 2024, made the remarks in an interview with Indian broadcaster NDTV.
She said she remained undeterred by the risks and would overcome “every obstacle and every conspiracy” to go back to Bangladesh.
Defiant rejection of ‘Illegal’ verdict
Hasina was sentenced to death in November by a Dhaka court after being convicted of inciting and ordering killings and failing to prevent atrocities during the unrest that led to her ouster.
She rejected the ruling outright, accusing Bangladesh’s judiciary of serving as “an instrument of political revenge” aimed at eliminating the leadership of her Awami League party.
“I do not fear death,” she said, adding that previous attempts to dismantle her party had failed and would continue to do so. Hasina insisted her planned return was not driven by personal ambition but by a mission to restore political rights, democracy, the rule of law, and the spirit of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.
Call to lift ban on Awami league
Defending her party, Hasina described the Awami league as “not a paper organisation but a political force rooted in the soil of Bengal, in the people of Bengal, in the history of Bengal and in the identity of the Bengali nation.”
The party remains banned under the current government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who assumed office after elections in February. She urged the authorities to create a proper democratic environment by lifting the ban on the Awami League, withdrawing what she called false cases against its leaders, releasing political prisoners, and permitting peaceful political activity.
The government has maintained that the legal proceedings are necessary to ensure accountability for alleged crimes committed during the final months of Hasina’s administration.
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