Hasina rejects US and India’s intervention, says ‘I don’t need the blessing of a foreign power’

New Delhi: Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has said she does not need India or the United States to intervene to secure her safe return to Bangladesh. She said that she would return next month despite facing a death sentence and the possibility of arrest.

“I value friendship and cooperation with all nations. That has always been our (Bangladesh’s) foreign policy. But I do not need the blessing of a foreign power to return to my own country,” Hasina said in an email interview with the Associated Press.

“If death is my destiny, I would rather die on the soil of my own country, among my own people,” she said. “So, I will return to Bangladesh. That decision has not changed.”

Hasina did not disclose how she intends to return from India. She fled to the country in August 2024 after student-led protests forced her out of power. She has remained in India since her removal.

She was found guilty in Bangladesh in November 2025 for crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. She was found guilty of ordering the killing of protesters.

Hasina has claimed innocence in the matter and has also opposed the ruling of the court. The government of Bangladesh has been demanding her extradition from India, which has replied that it has taken her case “under examination“.

The India’s high commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, said Hasina’s arrival in August 2024 was unexpected. He said India had “hardly any choice” but to allow her aircraft to land amid the political crisis, as RNA Media earlier reported.

“Hasina ji was not brought to India by the Indian Air Force or the Indian Army,” Trivedi said at the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 in Dhaka. He described accepting her arrival as “our duty as a neighbour”.

On the extradition request, Trivedi said, “The legal process is there in place.” He added that nobody could provide a timeframe for its conclusion.

Her planned return comes amid uncertainty over the future of her Awami League party. The party remains banned and was barred from contesting the February election. Several senior leaders have been arrested or forced into exile.

Hasina alleged that at least 20,000 party members had been killed since August 2024. She claimed thousands more had been arrested, tortured or forced into hiding. She also said supporters had lost their homes, businesses and livelihoods because of their political affiliations.

“There is no normal political or democratic environment,” she said. Hasina accused the authorities of systematically suppressing her party. The government, however, maintains that the arrests involve specific charges.

Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have criticized the current government over alleged violations of civil and political rights. The country has also faced criticism over its deteriorating law and order situation.

Hasina also raised concerns about the growing influence of hard-line groups in Bangladesh. “The present political environment has allowed extremist elements to become more confident,” she said.

Rights groups and independent observers had earlier raised concerns about radical groups attempting to suppress liberal voices during the interim administration. Minority communities have also reported intimidation. The previous administration had denied allegations of widespread wrongdoing.

In her earlier Durga Puja message, Hasina had also raised concerns about the safety of religious and ethnic minorities. She alleged that minority communities had faced attacks on their lives, homes, businesses and places of worship since her removal from power.