New Delhi, (EFE).- Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, defended her innocence in the face of the killing of 1,400 people in the 2024 protests, just hours before a general election that seeks to bring a definitive end to her political career.
Responding to a series of questions by EFE from an undisclosed location, the woman who ruled Bangladesh with an iron fist for 15 years – and who is currently one of the most wanted fugitives in the subcontinent – described the current interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus as an «illegal» regime allied with «terrorists.»
Hasina, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, officially regarded as the «Father of the Nation» of Bangladesh, is currently living in exile in India, and faces a death sentence and an extradition order. She describes and attributes her fall to a conspiracy to destroy the secular and economic legacy of her mandate.
QUESTION: You have led Bangladesh for many years and remain a central figure in the country’s recent history. What do you consider to be the main misunderstanding about your leadership today?
ANSWER: You need only look at the lies pedaled by the interim government to see how misunderstood our time in government was. Bangladesh today offers the clearest possible demonstration of what we were protecting the country from.
During our years in government, Bangladesh was transformed. We oversaw a period of remarkable economic growth, lifted millions out of poverty, quadrupled food production, empowered millions of women, and ensured that people of all faiths could live peacefully together. We suppressed domestic terrorism and protected the secular constitution that our ancestors gave their lives for in 1971. These were not my achievements alone; they belonged to the Bangladeshi people who trusted us repeatedly with their votes.
Today, all of that progress stands at the edge of ruin. The economy has stalled, religious minorities are persecuted, journalists are harassed for speaking the truth, people are imprisoned for their political beliefs and extremists from proscribed terrorist organisations sit in cabinet. There is no clearer evidence that the accusations against me are political, not factual.
Q: There has been criticism in recent years about a shrinking democratic space in Bangladesh. How do you address these concerns?
A: No government is without flaws, and I have never claimed otherwise. Democracy requires constant attention, humility and the willingness to listen, and I can acknowledge that Bangladesh’s political culture was not always as healthy as it should have been. Major parties sometimes chose to boycott elections rather than participate, and many Bangladeshis were effectively denied a meaningful choice at the ballot box as a result.
But there is a fundamental difference between imperfect democracy and the wholesale elimination of political choice.
During our time in government, we balanced the preservation of free speech with the protection of our minorities. We never banned opposition parties, never detained hundreds of thousands of citizens for their political beliefs and never tore up the constitution to exclude those who disagreed with us.
I can understand frustrations with our government, but I cannot accept the flagrant scapegoating of the Awami League (Hasina’s now-banned political party). The narrative that our stable and prosperous regime was completely to blame for Bangladesh’s current crisis is particularly aggrieving, given that the very problems we are accused of creating have only grown under the interim government.
Q: The International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka convicted you in absentia of crimes against humanity and sentenced you to death on Nov. 17, 2025. How did you receive the verdict, and what is your response to the charges brought against you?
A: I reject this verdict entirely. This was a trial that never set out to deliver justice, but one that was set up with the sole intention of eradicating a political opponent.
This tribunal was presided over by an unelected government who staffed the court with inexperienced judges and a biased prosecution. The evidence relied upon was fragmentary, taken out of context and drawn from witnesses under pressure to please the current administration. I was denied the right to a legal defence of my own choosing, while evidence that might have exonerated me was conveniently ignored. Legal and human rights bodies have unanimously condemned the proceedings.
To be absolutely clear: I have never killed anyone, nor did I issue orders to do so. This was a fast-moving and febrile situation but to characterise what happened as an attempt by the country’s leadership to attack its own people is entirely wrong. Indeed, I set up an inquiry into the causes of deaths and invited the United Nations to observe the events on the ground to help us understand what had caused the terrible violence we witnessed.
Yunus dissolved this inquiry within days of taking office, no doubt because he knows it would expose his own involvement. The interim government has no interest in establishing the truth. If it did, it would have produced an official death count, instead relying on the unverified figure of 1,400 pedalled by the UN in its incomplete report that fails to provide the names and identities of those who tragically lost their lives. Meanwhile, scores of policemen, activists, lawyers and journalists were killed and made to disappear, with no information about them.
I have repeatedly challenged the interim government to refer these matters to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the only genuinely international tribunal capable of adjudicating charges of this nature. They refuse because they know the ICC would acquit me of the blame Yunus has assigned to me and scrutinise his own record of human rights abuses.
Q: You have said that the uprising that led to your departure was the result of a conspiracy involving foreign forces. What proof do you have that the events leading to your departure were driven by foreign forces, rather than by internal discontent?
A: The student protests began as a legitimate expression of frustration over civil service job quotas, frustrations that we listened to and addressed. In the initial days, we allowed students to protest freely, we accepted their demands and we responded constructively.
What followed was not a continuation of civic expression. It was a coordinated transformation into violence that targeted state infrastructure with a precision that suggests prior planning. Police stations were systematically burned across the country, communications infrastructure was destroyed and officers were lynched.
We do not know whether foreign forces were involved, but what we can observe directly is the aftermath: convicted terrorists released from prison, extremists elevated to cabinet positions, blanket immunity granted to those responsible for destruction and violence. These are not the actions of a government that seized power accidentally. They are the actions of a government rewarding those who helped it take power.
Yunus himself has publicly admitted that this was a «meticulously designed plan,» which is no doubt the reason why he dissolved the judicial inquiry I set up to investigate the origins of the violence. An impartial investigation would have established who was responsible, who coordinated the attacks and whether external actors were involved.
By cancelling it, Yunus ensured those questions would never be answered through proper investigation.
Q: On Jan. 23, you broadcast a message from New Delhi in which you said that the interim government should be overthrown «at any cost.» Were you calling for street mobilization, or did you mean political action through other means?
A: Bangladesh cannot continue on its current trajectory. Without immediate action, the lawlessness and disorder that have consumed our country over the past eighteen months will become permanent.
The rule of law can only be restored by those who respect it, which is why I will always encourage my supporters to act with dignity and within the law through peaceful protest, legal advocacy and international pressure. We must rescue our democratic institutions from those who have debased them, and I call upon the international community to help me do so.
First, we must remove the unlawful interim government and restore democracy.
Second, we must stop political violence and restore the rule of law in Bangladesh.
Third, ensure the safety of minorities and women. We must establish ironclad guarantees to protect minority communities and women who are facing persecution and insecurity.
Fourth, end politically motivated legal actions. The cases against Awami League members, journalists and activists must be withdrawn, and democratic rights, including freedom of the press, must be fully restored.
Fifth, initiate an independent international investigation. I call for a United Nations-led inquiry into the events and deaths that have occurred in Bangladesh over the past year so that truth, accountability and justice may prevail.
Q: With the Awami League currently suspended from political activity and barred from participating in the upcoming elections, what responsibility do you feel towards party members who remain in Bangladesh and may face legal or political pressure?
A: Over 152,000 of our members and supporters are currently in custody on fabricated political charges, including over 120 Members of Parliament. They endure brutal conditions and are routinely denied adequate food, space and medical treatment. Indeed, over 100 Awami League members have died in custody with telltale signs of torture.
These are people whose only crime is their political belief. In a democratic society, political affiliation should never be punishable by imprisonment. Yet that is what it has become in Bangladesh.
The Awami League has never abandoned its members. I am deeply grateful for the courage our supporters have shown in standing firm despite this persecution. To them I say: remain peaceful, remain patient and continue to believe in democracy. No regime that rules through fear and repression can endure forever. Bangladesh belongs to its people, not to extremists who have temporarily seized power.
Q: Under what conditions, if any, would you be willing to return to Bangladesh?
A: Bangladesh must first restore constitutional governance and the rule of law. This means lifting the unlawful ban on the Awami League, releasing the political prisoners who have been detained on fabricated charges and holding genuinely free, fair, and participatory elections in which all political parties can compete. These are not unreasonable demands. They are the basic requirements of any functioning democracy.
The current climate makes my return impossible because the conditions for meaningful political participation do not exist. Freedom of expression has been destroyed and anyone who criticises the government risks imprisonment, intimidation or death. Media offices have been burned for reporting the truth. Diplomats have been targeted by violent mobs.
A death sentence has been issued against me by a kangaroo court with no pretence of impartiality.
Once democracy is restored, when our people no longer face persecution for their beliefs, when the rule of law is re-established and when a legitimate government governs with the consent of the people, then I will be able to return. EFE
lgm-igr/sc
