Dhaka, Aug 5 (dpa/GNA) – Exiled former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has vowed to return home in December, despite facing a death sentence handed down by a Dhaka court for her role in the suppression of the mass uprising that ousted her government in 2024.
“I know I may be detained. They may send me to prison. They may try to enforce the verdict issued in fabricated cases, but fear cannot decide my duty to the people,” Hasina told an event via a virtual address on Wednesday.
This was her first such address to journalists since she went into exile in India on August 5, 2024, in the wake of the violent uprising in Bangladesh. The New Delhi‑based Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia organized the event.
However, Bangladeshi authorities had earlier warned local media not to publish statements issued by Hasina, saying the former prime minister is a convicted person.
In November 2025, Hasina was convicted and sentenced to death by a special court in Bangladesh, for the brutal crackdown on the uprising, which, according to a UN estimate, left 1,400 people dead.
She alleged that a deep-rooted conspiracy forced her out of the office, and now says she does not wish to return for power. “It is about putting Bangladesh back on the right track. It is about renewing the country’s path of development, progress and economic stability,” said Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh for more than two decades.
She said a stable Bangladesh matters for South Asia, for the Bay of Bengal, for development partners, and for all countries that believe in democracy, the rule of law and justice.
Hasina demanded the lifting of the ban on the Awami League party, the release of all political prisoners, the dismissal of false cases and the restoration of freedom of speech in Bangladesh.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the July Uprising Memorial Museum at Gonobhaban in Hasina’s former official residence in Dhaka.
The museum is dedicated to preserving the history of the 2024 uprising. In his speech, Rahman said his government would prosecute those responsible for the killings during the uprising through a transparent, impartial and credible judicial process. “The government believes that justice for every crime is essential to ensure the rule of law,” he added.
GNA