Sheikh Hasina returning to Bangladesh? Ousted PM sets a timeline, says ‘don’t fear death’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Sheikh Hasina returning to Bangladesh? Ousted PM sets a timeline, says ‘don’t fear death’")
File image for representation Photograph: (AFP)
Ousted former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina announced plans to return home this year, dismissing her recent tribunal death sentence as a politically motivated attempt to cripple the Awami League.
Almost two years after being forced out of Bangladesh and taking refuge in India, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared that she will return to her country "this year". Despite being sentenced to death by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal, Hasina expressed her plan to return. In a recent interview, Hasina dismissed the tribunal's verdict as politically motivated, alleging it was aimed at crippling her party, the Awami League, by removing its leadership.
"The verdict against me is not justice. It is part of an illegal, unconstitutional, and politically motivated process. The judiciary has been turned into an instrument of political revenge to make the Awami League leaderless. Such attempts have been made before. They failed then, and they will fail again," Hasina told NDTV.
The tribunal convicted Hasina of crimes against humanity and handed her a death sentence in November last year. She has consistently rejected the proceedings, maintaining that the charges and verdict lack legitimacy.
Speaking about the possibility of returning despite the risks, Hasina said she had faced repeated threats throughout her political career and was not afraid of death.
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Recalling the assassination of her father, Bangladesh's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of her family in 1975, Hasina said violence had shaped much of her life. She also referred to the 21 August grenade attack that targeted her during a political rally, saying numerous conspiracies had failed to silence her.
"I do not fear death. In 1975, I lost my parents, my brothers, and almost my entire family. On 21 August, there was an attempt to kill me with grenades. Many conspiracies have been hatched against me. But breaking through every web of conspiracy, I stood beside the people of Bangladesh," she told the news outlet.
