Ex-leader Hasina gambles on return to Bangladesh despite death penalty
Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced plans to return to Bangladesh in December despite facing a death penalty for crimes against humanity. Hasina, who fled to India in 2024 following a mass uprising, continues to deny the charges and claims the protests were manipulated.
Why it matters
Her potential return could trigger significant political instability and diplomatic tension between Bangladesh and India.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Images of Sheikh Hasina have been defaced in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka
Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to return to her country in December, despite facing the death penalty there for crimes against humanity.
Hasina, who denies the charges, was tried in absentia after fleeing to India during an anti-government uprising in 2024.
On the second anniversary of being ousted, Hasina said in an audio broadcast to a crowded press club in Delhi that she "had to go back", but wouldn't announce her exact plans or dates yet.
Her Awami League party has been falling apart and Indian officials have been facing pressure to extradite her after a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death last year for ordering lethal force to be used on protesters.
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