NEW DELHI — Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has a question for those who claim her recent press conferences in India are damaging bilateral relations: "How can a press conference damage India-Bangladesh relations? I did not know that I was so powerful."

The remark, delivered with characteristic defiance during an extensive interview with The Hindu, captures the tension surrounding her exile in India since August 2024. Convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Bangladesh, the former leader remains undeterred—and unapologetic about speaking out.

Key facts

  • Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, claiming her safety was at risk
  • She has been convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Bangladesh
  • Hasina says she was taken to India without prior knowledge or consent
  • She maintains her press conferences are exercises in free speech, not diplomacy

The escape that wasn't a choice

Hasina's voice still carries the weight of that August night when she left Dhaka. "I did not leave Bangladesh by choice," she explains. The situation had deteriorated dramatically—police officers killed, stations attacked, government properties burned. Her security team insisted she evacuate the Prime Minister's residence.

Only when already airborne did she learn her destination. "I said, 'What?' I had no idea that was what they had planned," she recalls. India received her on short notice, providing security and shelter. "I am grateful for that," she says, though the bitterness of involuntary exile remains. "It was very hard for me to accept that I had been taken out of my own country."

Free speech and foreign relations

The Bangladesh government has accused Hasina's August 2026 press conference of damaging relations with India—a claim she dismisses with almost amused incredulity. She contrasts her situation with that of her political rival Tarique Rahman, who she says gave speeches and held video conferences from London without objection from her government.

Her concern isn't diplomacy but democracy. "Freedom of speech and expression has not merely declined, it has been destroyed," she states, citing grim statistics: 50 media houses vandalized or burned, 13 journalists killed, 38 jailed, over 300 facing cases including murder charges since August 2024.

"How can a press conference damage India-Bangladesh relations? I did not know that I was so powerful that one press conference of mine could damage Bangladesh's foreign policy."

The determined return

Despite the death sentence awaiting her in Bangladesh, Hasina's determination to return remains steadfast. She recalls previous exiles—six years in India after her family's assassination in 1975, another period abroad in 2007—and her subsequent returns each time.

"I will go back again," she says simply. The current government's position puzzles her: they ask India to send her back to face her sentence, yet seem uncomfortable when she volunteers to return herself.

If her party, the Awami League, asks her to step down as president, she would comply. But she bristles at the suggestion that the government or rival BNP should decide her party's leadership. "Who is the government or the BNP to decide who will lead the Awami League?"

Looking forward, remembering the past

Hasina's demands for international support are specific: lift the ban on Awami League, release political detainees, withdraw false cases, ensure citizen safety—especially for women and children—and restore freedom of movement and expression.

She speaks of her people—the party workers facing persecution, the more than six lakh with cases filed against them, those arrested or tortured without legal procedure. But she also includes all Bangladeshis. "Of course, the common people are all my people."

As the interview concludes, one thing is clear: whether from exile or from home, Sheikh Hasina intends to keep speaking—and eventually, to return.