Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina vows to return this year

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced her intention to return to Bangladesh this year, despite a death sentence handed down against her in absentia. The 78-year-old made the declaration in an interview published on Sunday, June 28, 2026, from her exile in India.

Hasina fled to neighboring India in August 2024 following a student-led uprising that ended her 15-year tenure. She has remained largely out of public view since, apart from a broadcast address from New Delhi in January. In her latest remarks, she dismissed the verdict against her as an illegal, unconstitutional, and politically motivated process, stating she is not afraid of death.

A court in Dhaka convicted Hasina last November on charges including incitement, ordering killings, and failing to prevent atrocities during the 2024 protests, sentencing her to death by hanging. Her former ruling party, the Awami League, has since been banned. Hasina rejected the tribunal's findings, asserting the case was designed to eliminate her party's leadership rather than deliver justice.

She framed her planned return as a matter of principle, linked to her father's vision for Bangladesh and the restoration of...