The former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, stated this Wednesday that she will return to her country next December from India, where she remains exiled after being sentenced to death for crimes against humanity linked to the harsh repression of the protests in July and August 2024, which left 1,400 dead and ultimately led to her fall from power after fifteen consecutive years in office.
"I know they can arrest me; that they can send me to prison; that they can try to execute the sentence handed down in fabricated cases. But fear cannot decide my duty to the people," she stated during an event of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia, based in New Delhi, in which she participated remotely.
In her speech, Hasina emphasized that "(she) is concerned about the future" of Bangladesh and expressed her desire to return "because the people deserve security, development, prosperity, and peace. They deserve a state that protects them, an economy that provides opportunities, and a democracy that guarantees their rights."
However, the former head of government stressed that "(her) return (...) has nothing to do with power." "I want to return to Bangladesh with a single purpose: to be by the people's side and help improve their lives," she remarked.
Sentenced to death at the end of 2025 by a special court for the repression of the mobilizations of the previous year, Hasina now claimed that a "conspiracy" forced her to leave the leadership of the Executive and demanded that the ban on her political party, the Awami League, be lifted.
Angry reaction from the Government of Bangladesh on a symbolic date
The authorities of Bangladesh expressed this Wednesday their "outrage" at Hasina's presence, whom they described as a "convicted genocidal and fugitive," at the meeting held in New Delhi, "where she and her henchmen launched virulent attacks against the State of Bangladesh and its people."
"Dhaka deeply regrets that, despite the concerns previously conveyed to the Government of India about the possible repercussions of this act on the restoration of our bilateral relations, this public event was allowed to take place," added the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement released on its social media.
The Foreign Department also emphasized that Hasina's public intervention occurred "on a day when the people of Bangladesh commemorate the second anniversary of the July Revolution," something it considered "an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh and a serious insult" to the victims of the repression of those protests.
In the same note, the Government denounced Hasina's refusal to accept the accusations and stated that the former leader and "her mafia organization will never have a place in the political life of Bangladesh."
Referring to India, the Bangladesh Executive lamented not having yet received a response to its "repeated requests" for Hasina's extradition and reminded New Delhi that "allowing her to interact openly with the media under any pretext is deeply hurtful to the sentiment of our people and detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India."