Ready to face risk of arrest or death to restore democracy, justice: Hasina

Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina says she will return in December despite the risk of arrest or death, calling for the restoration of democracy and justice

Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday declared that she is determined to return home in December, pledging to face the risk of arrest or a death sentence, in order to "restore democracy and justice" to the country.

Hasina said this at a virtual press conference in her first public media interaction since fleeing to India on August 5, 2024.

"My return is not about power, it's about putting Bangladesh back on track of development, secularism and prosperity," she said.

"I know, they may put me in jail or kill me," she said, adding, "I will go back home to be with my people."  Hasina, 78, has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka.

 

"I have decided to go and I will go to Bangladesh," she asserted.

Last November, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in Dhaka for alleged "crimes against humanity" over her government's brutal crackdown on student-led protests in 2024.

Since that verdict, Dhaka has been urging New Delhi to extradite her to face the law.

The former Bangladesh prime minister also hailed India for always standing by Bangladesh.

"India has always been a great friend of Bangladesh," she said.

Hasina said the situation in Bangladesh is very disturbing.

"Fear has entered homes, work places and educational campuses; this is not the Bangladesh we built. I call upon the international community to stand with the people of Bangladesh in their struggle for democracy and justice."  Hasina alleged that the protests in Bangladesh in July and August 2024 that resulted in the collapse of her government were not a peaceful student movement.

She alleged that organised groups worked to turn the movement into a violent political instrument.

"I was forced away from my country but I am never separated from my people," she said.

Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy claimed that political killings have been legalised in Bangladesh since August 2024.

Bangladesh today is a failed state, there is no law and order in the country, he said.

What should concern New Delhi most is that Bangladesh has become another Pakistan on India's eastern border, he alleged.