Hasina vows to return despite fearing for life

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh’s fugitive ex-premier Sheikh Hasina said she was determined to return to her country by December despite fearing for her life.

“I may be killed. I may be arrested. I may be sent to prison,” Hasina, 78, said in an emailed response to questions by this news agency.

“I am fully aware of my fate. Still, I want to go back because my people are calling me.” Toppled in August 2024 by a student-led uprising that ended her 15-year, iron-fisted rule, Hasina fled by helicopter to India as crowds stormed her palace. The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as she tried to cling to power.

In November, Hasina was found guilty by a Dhaka court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to be hanged — a verdict she described as “political vengeance dressed up as law”.

The former prime minister, who has been living in a secret location in India, insisted there was no pressure for her to return. Relations between India and Bangladesh, strained under the interim administration that took power after Hasina’s fall, have stabilised since Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took office in February.

Dhaka has formally requested Hasina’s extradition — a request New Delhi has said is “under examination”. Hasina said the issue had “no connection” with her decision to return.

“I can say that I am staying in India with due respect and dignity,” she said. “Indian authorities have not discussed extradition with me. I myself have decided to return to my country.”

The Bangladeshi government has said it will ensure Hasina receives due legal process in all cases against her should she return. Rights groups have long accused Hasina’s former administration of abuses including the murder of rivals, suppression of opposition parties, rigged courts and one-sided elections.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2026

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