Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she plans to return to Bangladesh in December despite the possibility of being arrested or even killed, according to an interview with Reuters,
The 78-year-old leader, who has been living in exile in New Delhi since being ousted from power last year, said she intends to return alongside members of her Awami League party and surrender before the courts.
"They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me," Hasina, 78, said in the nearly hour-long telephone interview late on Thursday and into Friday.
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"Still, I have to go," she said. "My party leaders and workers are being subjected to tremendous repression. If death comes, I want it to come on my own soil, where my parents are buried and where their blood was shed."
Bangladeshi authorities have repeatedly sought her extradition from India, but the Former Prime Minister insisted she would return voluntarily. Hasina told Reuters.
"The authorities in Dhaka 'want to take me back, they are repeatedly sending letters to India seeking to have me sent back'," she said. "I will go myself."
Sheikh Hasina fled to India in August 2025 after weeks of violent anti-government protests forced her from office, ending her nearly 16-year rule.
Bangladesh's interim government later initiated multiple legal cases against her, including allegations linked to corruption and the crackdown on protesters, all of which she has denied. The Awami League has since faced mounting legal and political pressure.
Hasina also alleged that Awami League leaders and workers have been targeted since the party lost power.
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"Cases have been filed against almost all of our leaders and workers, and many of them are in hiding,
" Hasina told Reuters from her exile home in Delhi. "So I said that this time I am returning home, and one day, all of you should come. All together, we will all surrender in court."
"I believe in justice, and I feel that once proceedings start, it will be clear to the people how farcical the court is — and that I want to prove it."
Reflecting on her years in office, Hasina acknowledged that governments can make mistakes but said voters should decide the Awami League's future.
"When a government works for a long time, mistakes can happen — no government is above error," she said. "But the right to judge the good and bad, the right and wrong of a government belongs to the people. I leave that judgment to the people."
"They may have convicted me, and I may not be able to contest elections," she said. "But why should they suspend the Awami League? If we have done badly, let the people decide."
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