Sheikh Hasina likely to be arrested on return to Bangladesh, says minister

Dhaka,UPDATED: Jul 30, 2026 18:00 IST

Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to be arrested as soon as she returns from India and before she gets a chance to surrender directly before a court, Bangladesh Law Minister M Asaduzzaman said on Thursday. His remarks came a day after Hasina said she was determined to return to Bangladesh by December despite fearing for her life.

Hasina, 78, told a news agency that, "I may be killed. I may be arrested. I may be sent to prison I am fully aware of my fate. Still, I want to go back because my people are calling me." Earlier this month too, interviews suggested she was discussing with party colleagues a possible return to Bangladesh by the end of this year.

Asaduzzaman said Hasina had the right to return, but added that "the law will take its own course and we will do nothing violating the law". He told reporters, "Despite being a death penalty convict, being a Bangladeshi citizen, if she intends to surrender showing respect to the law by returning home, perhaps she will be arrested before she could do so. We will exercise the authority that the law has given us."

Asked how she could return after her passport was revoked by the interim government that succeeded her, the minister said, "It is her problem, not mine." He added, "(But) whenever she will enter into our territory, I will enforce the authority that the law has reposed upon me."

Hasina's government was toppled in August 2024 after violent student-led street protests in Bangladesh, following which she fled to India. After the interim government took charge, a special court disbanded her party, the Awami League, under an executive order under an anti-terror law. In November 2025, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia after being convicted of crimes against humanity by the Crimes Tribunal for her role in the violent crackdown on the 2024 student-led protests. Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have called the proceedings "flawed", while the UN human rights office has questioned their fairness.

Earlier this year, elections were held in Bangladesh, after which the Bangladesh ist Party came to power and Tarique Rahman became prime minister. Bangladesh has for some time been seeking Hasina's extradition, and New Delhi has acknowledged the request and said it is under legal consideration. Overall, Bangladesh's law minister has made it clear that if Hasina returns by December as she has said she intends to, she is likely to be arrested on arrival and face the legal process already underway against her.

With PTI Inputs

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