Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday, August 5, declared that she is determined to return to Bangladesh later this year, saying she is prepared to face imprisonment or even death in what she described as a fight to restore democracy, justice and constitutional order in the country.
Speaking during a virtual press conference—her first public media interaction since leaving Bangladesh on August 5, 2024—Hasina said her planned return was driven by a commitment to the people rather than a desire to regain political power.
“My return is not about power, it is about putting Bangladesh back on the path of development, secularism and prosperity,” she said. “I know they may put me in jail or kill me, but I have decided to return. The date of my return will be announced later.”
The 78-year-old Awami League leader has been living in India since her government was ousted following the mass protests of July and August 2024. During the press conference, she appealed for the ban on the Bangladesh Awami League to be lifted, demanded that cases against her and party members be withdrawn, and called for the restoration of freedom of speech and democratic rights.
Describing the current situation in Bangladesh as deeply troubling, Hasina said she had watched her “beloved Bangladesh suffer” over the past two years. She alleged that the student-led protests that culminated in the fall of her government were transformed into an organised political campaign aimed at destabilising the country.
According to Hasina, her administration initially sought to address students’ concerns through dialogue, legal processes and restraint. However, she claimed that “organised groups” exploited the movement for political purposes, turning it into a campaign marked by violence.
Referring to remarks made by Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Hasina argued that his description of the 2024 protests as a “meticulously designed movement led by a mastermind” supported her claim that the unrest had been carefully orchestrated.
“I was forced away from my country, but I am never separated from my people,” she said, while also expressing gratitude to India for what she described as its longstanding friendship with Bangladesh.
Hasina’s remarks come months after a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death in absentia in November 2025 over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the crackdown on anti-government protests in 2024. Since the verdict, Bangladesh’s interim authorities have repeatedly sought her extradition from India, a request that has remained unresolved.
