Hasina, Sentenced to Death in Absentia, Vows to Return to Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's former prime minister sentenced to death in absentia, announced plans to return to the country she fled during 2024 protests. In an audio message for an event in New Delhi, the 78-year-old, who escaped to India in July 2024, said she would come back in December, stating, They can jail me, kill me, or anything can happen, but I must return. Fear should not affect my duty to the people.

Hasina also called for lifting the ban on her Awami League party and releasing political prisoners. The protests began in July 2024 over a quota system for descendants of 1971 independence war veterans, leading to a crackdown that killed at least 150 people. After the Supreme Court reduced quotas, demonstrators demanded justice for those killed, and Hasina fled by helicopter as protesters stormed her residence.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus became interim leader on August 8, 2024, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won elections on February 12 this year. Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia in November 2025 for protest deaths and also received prison terms for corruption.