Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina Vows to Return Home in 2026

Ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared her intention to return to Bangladesh in 2026, defying a death sentence handed down in absentia. Hasina, who fled to India in August 2024 after a student-led uprising removed her government, dismissed the verdict as “illegal, unconstitutional and politically motivated.”

Speaking in an interview, the 78-year-old leader expressed no fear of the death sentence, vowing to overcome “every obstacle and every conspiracy” to return home. This marks the first time she has provided a specific timeframe for her return. A Dhaka court had sentenced her to death last November, convicting her of inciting violence and failing to prevent atrocities during the 2024 unrest.

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I want to say clearly: overcoming every obstacle and every conspiracy, I will return to my country this year.

Hasina accused Bangladesh’s judiciary of acting as a tool for political retribution, aimed at dismantling her Awami League party. She asserted that past attempts to weaken her party had failed and would continue to do so. "I do not fear death," she stated, emphasizing her party's resilience.

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I do not fear death.

She framed her planned return not as a personal ambition but as a mission to reinstate political rights, democracy, and the rule of law, echoing the spirit of the 1971 Liberation War. Hasina highlighted that her Awami League party remains deeply connected to the Bangladeshi people, despite a ban on its activities, which continues under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government.

Hasina urged the current government to foster a democratic environment by lifting the ban on her party, dropping what she termed false cases against its leaders, releasing political prisoners, and allowing peaceful political activities. The government, however, maintains that the legal proceedings are necessary for accountability regarding alleged crimes during Hasina's final months in office.

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The Awami League is not a paper organisation but a political force rooted in the soil of Bengal, in the people of Bengal, in the history of Bengal and in the identity of the Bengali nation.