Sheikh Hasina vows to return, but will Bangladesh accept fugitive ex-PM?

What the report says

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said she intends to return to Bangladesh from exile in India, despite facing a death sentence in a case tied to the 2024 student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule. In an audio address from New Delhi, delivered during an event in the Indian capital, Hasina said she was prepared for arrest or prison and argued that she could not stay away from her supporters. Al Jazeera reported that the speech came as Bangladesh marked the second anniversary of the July 2024 mass uprising.

The report says Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal convicted Hasina in November of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death over the killing of more than 1,400 people during the protests. Dhaka has repeatedly sought her extradition from India, while New Delhi says the request is under review. Her remarks also prompted anger in Bangladesh, where protesters burned her effigy, and officials from the current government criticized India for allowing the address.

Al Jazeera also noted wider fallout around Hasina’s announcement. The ancestral home of former cricket captain and Awami League figure Shakib Al Hasan was attacked in Magura, and political opponents said Hasina should face Bangladesh’s judicial process before any return. Supporters within the now-banned Awami League welcomed the prospect of a comeback, but critics and analysts said her move was as much a bid to rally demoralized party activists as a realistic plan to resume power. The article places the episode in the broader context of Bangladesh’s unstable post-uprising politics and ongoing disputes over accountability, reconciliation and the future of Hasina’s party.