Former Bangladesh Prime Minister says she will surrender before the courts despite facing a death sentence and the ban on the Awami League.
July 10, 2026: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced that she plans to return to Bangladesh later this year despite facing a death sentence and the banning of her Awami League party. Speaking in her first interview since leaving the country in 2024, Hasina said she and several senior party leaders intend to return around December and voluntarily surrender before the courts. She acknowledged that she could be arrested or even killed upon her return but insisted she wanted to face whatever awaited her in her homeland.
Hasina fled Bangladesh following a student-led uprising that ended her long rule. In November last year, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia over the crackdown on anti-government protesters, charges she continues to deny. She said she had not discussed her return with any foreign government, despite Dhaka repeatedly seeking her extradition from India. The former prime minister also revealed that exiled Awami League leaders, including former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, plan to surrender alongside her.
Defending her political legacy, Hasina said any judgment on her government should come from the people rather than political opponents. She questioned the suspension of the Awami League, arguing that voters should decide the party’s future through elections. Hasina also claimed she has continued reorganising the party from exile, conducting online meetings across more than 100 parliamentary constituencies as preparations continue for its political revival.