‘Want death to come on my own soil’: Sheikh Hasina says will return, surrender in December

Ousted Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina, who is living in exile in India after being sentenced to death in Bangladesh and her Awami League party being banned, has said in an interview that she and senior party leaders voluntarily plan to return around December and surrender in court, adding that she faces a risk to her life and may be killed but would still go back to her home country.

The 78-year-old leader told Reuters that she and other Awami League leaders want to return to the country and present themselves in court.

“They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me. Still, I have to go,” said Hasina.

“My party leaders and workers are being subjected to tremendous repression. If death comes, I want it to come on my own soil, where my parents are buried and where their blood was shed.”

Bangladesh’s war crimes court sentenced Hasina to death in absentia

Hasina fled Bangladesh in 2024 after protests ended her 20 years in power across terms. In November, Bangladesh’s war crimes court sentenced her to death in absentia for ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising.

This is the first time Hasina has announced a timeline for her return with other exiled Awami League leaders including former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who also faces a death sentence.

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“The authorities in Dhaka want to take me back, they are repeatedly sending letters to India seeking to have me sent back,” she said. “I will go myself.”

India’s foreign ministry had said in April that it was examining Bangladesh’s extradition request and wanted to “engage constructively with the new government and further strengthen bilateral ties.”

Hasina entered politics after the assassination of her father, the country’s founding leader, and much of her family in a military coup.

She was credited with helping transform the economy of the Muslim-majority nation but faced accusations that her government suppressed dissent and weakened democratic institutions.

‘Cases filed against almost all of our leaders and workers’

“Cases have been filed against almost all of our leaders and workers, and many of them are in hiding,” Hasina told Reuters. “So I said that this time I am returning home, and one day, all of you should come. All together, we will all surrender in court,” she said but did not share any specific date for her return.

“I believe in justice and I feel that once proceedings start, it will be clear to the people how farcical the court is — and that I want to prove it.”

Hasina said she had not held any talks with the authorities in Dhaka about her plans.

“Democracy, voting rights, the political rights of the Awami League, and justice are not subjects for secret talks.”

She also said she was not concerned about her probable imprisonment, saying she had been arrested several times before.

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‘When a government works for a long time, mistakes can happen‘

Hasina said she fled Bangladesh in 2024 because of threats to her life as crowds advanced toward her residence.

“When a government works for a long time, mistakes can happen, no government is above error,” she said. “But the right to judge the good and bad, the right and wrong of a government belongs to the people. I leave that judgment to the people.”

“They may have convicted me, and I may not be able to contest elections. But why should they suspend the Awami League? If we have done badly, let the people decide,” she said.