Her decision to return to Bangladesh from exile in India by December remains unchanged despite the possibility of arrest or death, Hasina said on Thursday.
Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said she does not need the backing of any foreign country to return home.
“I value friendship and cooperation with all nations. That has always been our (Bangladesh’s) foreign policy. Hasina has denied wrongdoing, rejected the verdict and questioned the legitimacy of the trial. “Now I have decided. Yes, I know. She also thanked the Indian government and people for providing her shelter after she fled Bangladesh, saying she had not planned to leave her country.
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia in November 2025 for crimes against humanity over the deadly crackdown on student-led protests in July-August 2024. Nearly 1,400 people were killed during the violence, according to the United Nations. Because bangladesh’s political crisis cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely, “I have said I intend to return by December.
But I do not need the blessing of a foreign power to return to my own country,” Hasina told news agency AP in an email interview. If I go back, the moment I will land they can kill me, or they can arrest me and torture me,” she said. In a September interview with HT, Hasina said that she intended to return by December and would announce the date, time and point of entry later. I will announce the specific date, time and point of entry in due course,” she said.
Earlier this year in a virtual press conference from Delhi, Hasina acknowledged the risks involved in returning, saying she could be killed, arrested or tortured as soon as she landed in Bangladesh.
Asked whether she expected countries such as the United States and India to put pressure on Bangladesh to ensure her safe return, the ousted leader said she was not seeking foreign protection.
