Picture via Reuters
Source; AP News.
“I know that I may be arrested when I return. I may be imprisoned, tortured or even killed. I am fully aware of those possibilities. But I cannot spend the rest of my life watching my people suffer from a distance,” Sheikh Hasina told the Associated press (AP).
In 2025, a Bangladeshi special tribunal sentenced her to death for Alleged crimes against humanity..
Hasina denies any wrongdoing. She also has rejected the tribunal’s verdict and challenged the legitimacy of the trial.
Bangladesh has repeatedly sought Hasina’s extradition, but India has declined to hand her over. She had first announced in August her intention to return in December.
“If death is my destiny, I would rather die on the soil of my own country, among my own people,” she told The Associated Press in response to questions by email. “So, I will return to Bangladesh. That decision has not changed.
Questions were submitted to her last week and she responded on Wednesday.
Hasina, who was prime minister from 2009-2024, didn’t disclose how she plans to return from India. She could face arrest upon arrival in Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina alleged that at least 20,000 party members have been killed since August 2024, while thousands have been arrested, tortured or forced into hiding. She said that supporters have also lost homes, businesses and livelihoods because of their political affiliations.
“There is no normal political or democratic environment,” she said, accusing the authorities of systematically suppressing the party.