Sheikh Hasina says she’ll return from India, Bangladesh says she’ll be arrested
Law Minister M Asaduzzaman said 78-year-old Hasina had the right to return as a Bangladeshi citizen but insisted that "the law will take its own course and we will do nothing violating the law".
Bangladesh’s law minister has said deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to be arrested immediately if she returns from India, a day after the former premier said she was determined to return to her country by December despite fearing for her life.
Law Minister M Asaduzzaman said 78-year-old Hasina had the right to return as a Bangladeshi citizen but insisted that “the law will take its own course and we will do nothing violating the law”.
“Despite being a death penalty convict, being a Bangladeshi citizen, if she intends to surrender showing respect to the law by returning home, perhaps she will be arrested before she could do so,” the minister told reporters. “We will exercise the authority that the law has given us.”
Asked how Hasina could return after her passport was revoked by the interim government that succeeded her, Asaduzzaman said: “It is her problem, not mine.”
“(But) whenever she will enter into our territory, I will enforce the authority that the law has reposed upon me,” he added.
The minister’s remarks came a day after Hasina told news agency AFP that she intended to return to Bangladesh by December despite concerns over her safety. Earlier this month, interviews with the former prime minister also suggested she had been discussing a possible return with Awami League colleagues by the end of this year.
Hasina fled to India in August 2024
Hasina fled to India after her government was toppled in August 2024 following violent student-led street protests in Bangladesh. An interim government that took charge after her ouster later disbanded her Awami League under an executive order issued under an anti-terror law.
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In November 2025, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia after being convicted of crimes against humanity by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal over the violent crackdown on the 2024 student-led protests. She has dismissed the charges as “politically motivated”.
The tribunal was originally formed in 2010 to try collaborators of Pakistani troops during the 1971 Liberation War. The Yunus regime later amended its mandate to try the deposed premier by appointing a chief prosecutor who had appeared as the key defence counsel in the collaborators’ cases. International human rights watchdogs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have described the tribunal’s proceedings as “flawed”, while the UN human rights office has questioned their fairness.
Bangladesh continues extradition push
Earlier this year, elections were held in Bangladesh, following which the Bangladesh Nationalist Party came to power and Tarique Rahman became prime minister. Bangladesh has since been seeking Hasina’s extradition from India, while New Delhi has acknowledged the request and said it remains under legal consideration.
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World · Bangladesh · India
Sheikh Hasina's road back — and the death sentence waiting for her
Convicted in absentia and sentenced to death, Bangladesh's ousted PM says she'll return from exile in India in December. Dhaka says she'll be arrested; India is still weighing extradition.
.Developing · extradition under examination
From ouster to a planned return
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August 2024
Ousted from power in a student-led uprising after 15 years in office; she flees to India.
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Since Aug 2024
Lives in self-imposed exile in New Delhi; her party is banned back home.
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17 Nov 2025
Sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity over the 2024 crackdown; Dhaka demands extradition.
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21 Nov 2025
Bangladesh files a formal extradition request with India (a separate 21-year corruption sentence follows days later).
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Mid-2026
Hasina tells Reuters she'll return in December and surrender to a court.
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Latest
Bangladesh warns she'll be jailed on arrival — “a convicted criminal,” a minister says.
The chain that leads to arrest
Government ousted (Aug 2024)
A mass uprising ends her rule; she leaves for India.
Crimes-against-humanity trial
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal tries her in absentia over the 2024 crackdown.
Death sentence in absentia
Nov 17, 2025: convicted on three counts and sentenced to death. She denies the charges.
Extradition request to India
Dhaka asks Delhi to hand her over to face the sentence.
Her planned return
She says she'll come back in December and surrender.
Arrest warning
Bangladesh says she'll be detained and face the law the moment she lands.
Where India fits in
1
The flight
Bangladesh → India
Hasina fled to India in August 2024 and has lived in New Delhi since.
2
The request
Dhaka asks Delhi to extradite her
Filed Nov 2025 under the 2013 India-Bangladesh extradition treaty.
3
Where it stands
India: request “under examination”
Delhi says it's studying the legalities; no Indian court proceedings have opened. It has stressed wanting to “engage constructively” with Dhaka.
4
The wildcard
Her voluntary return
If she returns on her own, as she says she will, the extradition question could be overtaken by events.
In her own words
These are Sheikh Hasina's own statements and claims, from her interview and anniversary message — not established facts. Her conviction stands in Bangladesh; she rejects it.
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She will return to Bangladesh — in December, and will surrender to a court.
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She wants to restore democracy, casting the current order as unelected and illegitimate.
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She vows to continue the Awami League's struggle, despite the party's ban.
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She rejects the charges as politically motivated, calling the verdict “biased” and “a foregone conclusion.”
Her statements as reported by Reuters and others. Bangladesh's tribunal found her guilty on three counts; the two sides' accounts are irreconcilable and presented here as claims.
Sources: Reuters · Al Jazeera · ISAS-NUS · India's Ministry of External Affairs. A developing story; the conviction is rejected by Hasina and contested politically.
“My absence is not silence. Even though I am away, I am with the people of Bangladesh,” she wrote, adding that “the struggle to restore democracy in Bangladesh continues through diplomatic, political, and legal channels, and by building international public opinion”.
Hasina accused the current Bangladesh Nationalist Party government of continuing what she described as political repression that began under the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus. She alleged that Awami League leaders and supporters were facing false cases, arrests, harassment and political persecution, while maintaining that the party remained deeply rooted among the Bangladeshi people.
“I will return to the struggle to establish the rights of the people of Bangladesh. I will return with the commitment to restore democracy, the rule of law, the people’s voting rights, and the spirit of the liberation war,” she wrote.
“I will return through the strength of the people. The people of Bangladesh will restore their democracy, their rights, and their dignity.”
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The former prime minister also defended the Awami League’s historical role in Bangladesh’s independence and development, saying the party had endured repeated bans, repression and political violence during its 77-year history but would “rise again” with the support of the people.
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