Ousted PM Hasina faces prison on return to Bangladesh, minister says

Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be jailed if she returns to Bangladesh from her self-imposed exile in India, a senior government official warned Monday. Shama Obaed Islam, Bangladesh's state minister for foreign affairs, told reporters that Hasina is a "convicted criminal" and will face legal action according to Bangladeshi law if she surrenders.

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Sheikh Hasina is a convicted criminal. If she surrenders, action will be taken against her as per the laws of Bangladesh.

"She will have to go to jail and further proceedings will follow as per the provisions of the law," Obaed stated. Hasina, who has been living in New Delhi since August 2024, faces a death sentence handed down in absentia by the country's war-crimes court. The sentence was for allegedly ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising that year, which the United Nations reported killed 1,400 people. Hasina has denied the charges from exile.

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She will have to go to jail and further proceedings will follow as per the provisions of the law.

Bangladesh is currently governed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's administration, which took office in February following elections. The government is working to stabilize the country after two years of political turmoil. India has been asked to extradite Hasina, and New Delhi is reportedly examining the request while seeking to strengthen bilateral ties.

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Cases have been filed against almost all of our leaders and workers, and many of them are in hiding.

In a recent interview with Reuters, Hasina expressed her intention to return to Bangladesh in December and surrender to the court. She indicated that many of her party colleagues, who have been living abroad since her ouster, would also return to face trial. "Cases have been filed against almost all of our leaders and workers, and many of them are in hiding," Hasina said. Obaed dismissed Hasina's statement as an "attempt to mobilise fugitive party leaders and activists."

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an attempt to mobilise fugitive party leaders and activists.