Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister before her ouster in 2024, has defiantly announced plans to return from Indian exile this December—even as Dhaka rejected her passport request and insists on her extradition to face execution.
The Fall and the Death Sentence
Hasina’s 15-year reign collapsed during mass 2024 protests initially sparked by a contentious job quota system, which she later claimed was a U.S.-backed coup over her refusal to cede strategic territory. By November 2025, she was convicted in absentia for ordering lethal force against demonstrators, with prosecutors blaming her for 1,400 deaths. The U.N. documented systemic abuses during the crackdown, while her Awami League party was outlawed.
‘I Will Return, Even to My Death’
“If death is my destiny, I would rather die on the soil of my own country,” Hasina told the AP, acknowledging imminent arrest or worse. She alleges 20,000 party members have been killed since her fall, with thousands more imprisoned or driven underground—claims Dhaka dismisses as propaganda.
Extradition Standoff
India has repeatedly cited treaty clauses to block her deportation, calling the case politically motivated. On Monday, Bangladesh’s foreign minister branded Hasina a “terrorist” and demanded New Delhi comply with the extradition agreement.
The stage is now set for a high-stakes December showdown, with Hasina betting her life on a populist resurgence—and the government vowing she’ll never walk free.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2026/11/09/ousted-bangladeshi-prime-minister-sheikh-hasina-seeks-return-from-exile/