Sheikh Hasina reiterates she will return to Bangladesh in December

Sheikh Hasina announced that she plans to return to Bangladesh in December. She made the statement virtually at a Washington event hosted by the Center for US-Bangladesh Relations. The announcement matters because she has been living in India since being removed from office and says returning could put her life and freedom at risk.

Hasina said she was not afraid of arrest, torture, or death. She explained that she had faced arrest and torture before, but still wanted to go back. She also said returning was her responsibility. In July, she had told Reuters and AFP that she and senior Awami League figures planned to return around December and surrender to the courts.

Her latest statement repeats that commitment, rather than setting a precise date. She had also repeated it on the second anniversary of her ouster. Bangladesh has since sought her extradition, and the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia in November 2025. India says the extradition request is under review.

The article does not state the precise number of months or years Hasina has spent in India. It gives the starting point: August 5, 2024, when a student-led uprising forced her from office. Therefore, the safest answer is that she has lived there since that date, with the exact duration depending on when the report was published.

The article also refers to her death sentence in November 2025. By that point, she had been in India for at least 15 months. It later describes her as still living there while she discusses a possible December return, but it does not provide a publication date for that latest statement.

This timeline matters because her stay in India is central to the legal dispute. Bangladesh has requested her extradition, while India says the request is being examined through judicial and internal legal processes. Her proposed return would therefore end her period of residence in India and could bring her before Bangladeshi authorities.

Hasina faces arrest, imprisonment, or execution because Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal convicted her of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death in absentia. The case concerns the crackdown on the student-led protests in 2024. A death sentence creates the most serious possible legal consequence if she returns and the judgment is enforced.

The article says the tribunal issued its sentence in November 2025, while Hasina was outside Bangladesh. “In absentia” means the case and judgment proceeded without her being physically present in court. Bangladesh has also sought her extradition, first under Muhammad Yunus’s interim administration and later under the government headed by Tarique Rahman.

Hasina denies the charges and calls the proceedings politically motivated. She nevertheless says she plans to return in December and surrender to the courts. India has not sent her back; New Delhi says the request is being examined through judicial and internal legal processes. That review stands between her planned return and Bangladesh’s request.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal is the judicial body identified in the article as handling crimes against humanity cases. It convicted Sheikh Hasina over the crackdown on the 2024 student-led protests and sentenced her to death in November 2025. The ruling matters because it gives Bangladeshi authorities a legal basis for seeking her return.

The phrase “in absentia” means Hasina was not present in court when the case proceeded and the sentence was issued. She has been living in India since August 5, 2024. The article does not describe the trial’s detailed evidence or procedures, but it states that the tribunal convicted her and that she denied the charges.

The sentence has immediate practical consequences. Bangladesh has requested her extradition from India. Hasina says she may be arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or killed if she returns, yet she says she still intends to go back. India says it is reviewing the request through judicial and internal legal processes.

Extradition is the process through which one country asks another to surrender a person for criminal proceedings or punishment. In this case, Bangladesh wants Sheikh Hasina returned after her conviction and death sentence. India is involved because Hasina has been living there since August 5, 2024, after leaving Bangladesh.

The article says Dhaka requested her extradition under both Muhammad Yunus’s interim administration and the government headed by Tarique Rahman. It also says that Indian authorities had not discussed extradition with Hasina during her July interviews, and that she described the decision to return as her own. Bangladesh’s request therefore requires action by the country where she resides.

New Delhi has said the request is being examined through judicial and internal legal processes. The article does not specify the outcome or a deadline. Until India decides, Bangladesh cannot simply take custody of Hasina in India. Her planned December return could make extradition unnecessary, but she has not given an exact date.

The article describes the 2024 uprising as a student-led movement that forced Sheikh Hasina from Bangladesh’s prime-ministerial office on August 5, 2024. That event is the central turning point in the story. It ended her time in office and began her life in India, where she has remained while facing legal action at home.

The source does not explain the uprising’s specific demands, size, duration, or the exact sequence of events that caused the government to fall. It does state that the movement involved protests and that the authorities’ crackdown later became the basis for the International Crimes Tribunal case against Hasina. The article calls that crackdown the subject of crimes-against-humanity convictions.

The consequences continued after her removal. Hasina has repeatedly promised to return, despite possible arrest or death. The Awami League chief says she wants to return to her people and restore development, secularism, and stability. Bangladesh’s tribunal later sentenced her in absentia, while Dhaka sought her extradition from India.

When a former leader is convicted abroad, three systems overlap. A court decides whether the person is guilty and sets a sentence. Extradition is the separate process through which the country holding that person considers a request to surrender them. Political legitimacy concerns whether institutions and elections are accepted as lawful and credible by competing sides.

The article illustrates each part. Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal convicted Hasina and sentenced her to death in absentia. Bangladesh then sought her extradition from India, where she has lived since August 5, 2024. India says the request is being examined through judicial and internal legal processes, showing that a conviction does not automatically produce a transfer.

The political dispute remains central. Hasina denies the charges and calls the proceedings politically motivated. She also accuses the Tarique Rahman-led government of corruption and demands free and fair elections. She says her return would support development, secularism, and stability. The next outcome depends on India’s review and Hasina’s stated plan to return in December.