Sheikh Hasina will be jailed if she returns to Bangladesh, says minister

Dhaka,UPDATED: Jul 13, 2026 22:38 IST

Bangladesh state minister for foreign affairs Shama Obaed Islam has said deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina will be jailed if she returns, amid reports that the banned Awami League leader is preparing to go back to Dhaka by December.

Hasina, 78, was ousted in a violent student-led street protest on August 5, 2024, and has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka after the collapse of her government. In November last year, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death in absentia for alleged crimes against humanity linked to her government's crackdown on the 2024 protests, a verdict she has described as politically motivated.

Speaking on Monday, Shama said the government would act under the law if Hasina returns. "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," she was quoted as saying by the state-run BSS news agency. She added that the government would proceed strictly in line with the existing legal framework if Hasina surrenders.

Last week, sources close to Hasina said she was preparing to return to Dhaka by December and that it would be a completely voluntary decision. But Shama 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." She also said Hasina had already been convicted and the government therefore had nothing to consider regarding her statements.

Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has rejected the death penalty, the criminal convictions and the charges against her as "politically motivated". Since the tribunal's verdict, Dhaka has been urging New Delhi to extradite her so she can face the law in Bangladesh.

Shama said efforts to bring Hasina back began under the earlier interim regime and are now being pursued by the Bangladesh ist Party-led government. She said the legal process would decide the next steps once Hasina returns to Bangladesh. Commenting on Hasina's reported plan to return, Shama said she saw the remarks as an attempt to encourage Awami League leaders and activists who had gone into hiding or fled the country. "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.

The minister's remarks came as reports of Hasina's possible return gathered attention, with Dhaka maintaining that if she surrenders, the legal process will follow and she will have to go to jail first.

With PTI Inputs

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