Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said she is ready to return to her country, despite the risks involved. In a virtual interaction, Hasina recalled how she had been targeted in her own country in the past but emerged undeterred.
“Now I have decided…Yes, I know. However, she didn’t specify a timeline for her return in the latest interaction.
If I go back, the moment I will land they can kill me, or they can arrest me and torture me,” Hasina said, addressing a Washington-based press conference virtually. Her remarks come weeks after she said she intends to return home on her own by December.
Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy was present at the US press conference. Criticising Bangladesh’s Tarique Rahman-led government, Joy slammed extra-judicial killings and jailing of Awami League leaders since Hasina’s ouster. Addressing the US-based presser, she also thanked the Indian government for giving her shelter. “I was not prepared to leave my country, but somehow I reached here. I am not afraid. “I will go back to Bangladesh in December.
Hasina, whose Awami League government was ousted from power followed by student-led protests in Bangladesh, has been in self-exile in India since August 2024. She also alleged that while over 600 cases were filed against her, those who were actually behind the crimes were granted immunity by the interim government in Bangladesh. Hasina, who fled Bangladesh following the collapse of her government in August 2024, said her return might expose her to imprisonment or violence but argued that political responsibility required her to stand alongside her supporters.
I thank the Indian government and the people here,” she said. She said that although she was forced away from her country in 2024, she was “never separated” from her people. I know they can kill me, arrest me and torture me…It’s my responsibility to go,” she said, without giving the exact date for her return. Earlier reporting noted: Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated her intention of returning to her country in December, even if the current Tarique Rahman-led government “arrests, kills or tortures” her. Earlier reporting noted: Addressing a Washington-based press conference virtually, the former premier said it was her responsibility to return to Bangladesh and that the dangers surrounding it would not deter her.
Earlier reporting noted: “I will go back to Bangladesh in December.
