Bangladesh outraged as Sheikh Hasina addresses media from New Delhi

Dhaka,UPDATED: Aug 5, 2026 23:50 IST

Bangladesh on Wednesday said it was outraged over deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's media interaction in New Delhi, saying the event had hurt public sentiment in the country and could adversely affect efforts to improve bilateral ties with India.

During an audio-only virtual press conference, her first public media interaction since fleeing to India on August 5, 2024, following a massive protest, Hasina said she was determined to return to Bangladesh in December to put the country on the "right track". Attendees could not see her and heard only her voice.

Reacting to the press conference, Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the country was "outraged" that the "absconding convicted" Hasina had been allowed to engage in a live interaction with the media in New Delhi.

The ministry said it had conveyed its concerns to the Government of India in advance about the "likely ramifications" of the event for bilateral relations, but the interaction was allowed to take place. It said Bangladesh wanted to maintain a "constructive, mutually beneficial, and forward-looking relationship with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and national dignity".

It said that, on the contrary, allowing Hasina to publicly interact with the media had hurt public sentiment in Bangladesh and was "detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations" between the two neighbours. The ministry also expressed disappointment that its requests seeking Hasina's return under the India-Bangladesh Extradition Treaty signed in 2013 had not yet received a response.

Last November, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in Dhaka for alleged "crimes against humanity" over her government's crackdown on student-led protests in 2024. Since the verdict, Dhaka has been urging New Delhi to extradite her to face the law.

The statement described Hasina's remarks from India as an "affront" to Bangladesh's sovereignty and an insult to those who lost their lives during the July Revolution. It also rejected her comments on the July-August 2024 violence, alleging that they sought to deny findings documented by the United Nations regarding civilian casualties during the unrest.

During the virtual interaction, Hasina alleged that the protests in Bangladesh in July and August 2024 that led to the collapse of her government were not a peaceful student movement. She said "organised groups" had worked to turn the movement into a "violent political instrument". "It was not simply a spontaneous student protest. There was no visible or responsible leadership. Instructions were given invisibly. It was organised and used to create a path to power outside the ballot box," Hasina alleged.

Reiterating its commitment to the ideals of the July Revolution, the ministry said the people of Bangladesh had rejected any attempt to return to what it described as "the dark days of fascism". According to a February 2025 report by the UN rights office, up to 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 last year, a period dubbed the July Uprising, as Hasina's government ordered a security crackdown on protesters.

With PTI Inputs

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