NEW DELHI (AP) — Ousted former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Wednesday that she plans to return to her country from exile in India in December despite facing a death sentence in Bangladesh over a bloody crackdown on protesters in 2024. In an audio address to an event in New Delhi marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled her government, Hasina said it was her duty to her people to return voluntarily despite her conviction in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity.Hasina fled to India in 2024 after student-led protests forced her from power, and she has remained in exile there ever since.In 2025, a Bangladeshi court sentenced her to death on charges of crimes against humanity for ordering a crackdown on the uprising. The United Nations in a report said nearly 1,400 people were killed in the crackdown. Hasina denies any wrongdoing.
Bangladesh has repeatedly sought Hasina’s extradition, but India has so far declined to hand her over.“I know that they may put me in jail, or they may kill me, or anything may happen, but still I have to go back,” Hasina said during her address. “Fear cannot decide my duty to the people.”She also called for the ban on her Awami League party to be lifted and for political prisoners to be released.
