Sheikh Hasina Plans Return to Bangladesh Amid Controversy

Ousted former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced on Wednesday her intention to return to Bangladesh from exile in India this December. Despite facing a death sentence in Bangladesh due to a crackdown on protesters in 2024, Hasina expressed her commitment to voluntarily returning to her homeland.

In an audio address at an event in New Delhi, marking two years since the uprising that led to her government’s downfall, Hasina stated that returning was her duty to her people. She has been convicted in absentia for crimes against humanity.

The Bangladesh government reacted strongly to Hasina’s address. It expressed outrage over her public interaction in New Delhi, accusing her of launching hostile attacks against the Bangladesh state and its people.

“This event undermines the ties between Bangladesh and India,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated. “On a day commemorating the July Revolution’s second anniversary, her actions on Indian soil insult Bangladesh’s sovereignty and the revolution’s martyrs,” the statement added.

Hasina fled to India in 2024 following her ousting due to student-led protests. She has remained there since. In 2025, a Bangladeshi court sentenced her to death for ordering the crackdown during the uprising, which, according to a United Nations report, resulted in nearly 1,400 deaths. Hasina denies any wrongdoing, and India has declined Bangladesh’s extradition requests.

“I am aware of the risks, including imprisonment or death, but my duty to the people is paramount,” Hasina stated during her address.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s current Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, inaugurated the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum on Wednesday. The museum, located in Hasina’s former residence in Dhaka, showcases audio and video exhibits related to the 2024 uprising and includes personal items from those who were killed, as well as newspaper articles from the period.

The museum was initiated by interim government leader Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who took office just days after Hasina’s removal. Rahman, now in power following a decisive election victory in February, attended the museum’s inauguration alongside Yunus. Hasina’s Awami League party, banned from the election, continues to call for the lifting of the ban and the release of political prisoners.