Bangladesh Minister Warns: Sheikh Hasina Faces Arrest on Return
Dhaka, July 13 (Reuters) – Deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina will be jailed if she returns to Bangladesh, a state minister said on Monday, amid reports that the banned Awami League leader is preparing to return to Dhaka by December.
Hasina, 78, daughter of Bangladesh's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was ousted in a violent student-led uprising on August 5, 2024. She has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka after her government collapsed.
“If she surrenders, steps will be taken in accordance with the existing law. She will have to go to jail. The law will take its own course,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam told the state-run BSS news agency. The minister stressed that the government would act strictly within the legal framework.
Last week, sources close to Hasina indicated she intends to return to Dhaka by December, calling it a voluntary decision. Reacting to this, Minister Islam said, “Wherever Sheikh Hasina surrenders, whether in India or Bangladesh, she will have to go to jail first. The government has nothing to consider regarding the statements of a convicted individual.”
In November 2025, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced Hasina to death in absentia for “crimes against humanity” linked to a brutal crackdown on student protests in 2024. Hasina has dismissed the verdict and other charges as “politically motivated.”
Since the sentencing, Bangladesh has urged India to extradite Hasina. Minister Islam noted that the extradition process, initiated under the previous interim government, is now being pursued by the current Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led administration.
Commenting on Hasina’s reported plans, the minister viewed them as an attempt to rally Awami League supporters who have gone into hiding or fled. “Instead of surrendering, her remarks from abroad appear to be an attempt to encourage Awami League leaders and activists who have either gone into hiding or fled the country. I see no other reason,” she added.
