Sheikh Hasina to Face Arrest Immediately on Return

Warns Bangladesh Law Minister

Report By Y-Trendz

Dhaka: Bangladesh's Law Minister M Asaduzzaman has said that deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to be arrested the moment she sets foot back in the country, before she would even get

the chance to formally surrender before a court. The minister's remarks came a day after Hasina told a news agency that she intended to return to Bangladesh by December, despite fearing for her life.

Hasina's Own Words on Returning

In the interview that preceded the minister's comments, Hasina reportedly said she was fully aware that she could be killed, arrested, or imprisoned upon her return, but that she still wanted to go back because her people were calling her. Earlier in July, she had also given interviews suggesting she was discussing a possible return with party colleagues by the end of the year. Hasina, 78, has been living in India since her government was toppled.

Law Minister's Response

Responding to questions from reporters on Thursday, Asaduzzaman was direct about what awaits Hasina if she attempts to return home. He noted that despite being a convict under a death sentence and a Bangladeshi citizen, if she intended to surrender out of respect for the law by returning home, she would most likely be arrested before she got that opportunity. He added that the government would exercise the authority the law had given it.

Asaduzzaman acknowledged that Hasina, as a citizen, does have the right to return, but stressed that the law would take its own course and that the government would do nothing in violation of it. When a reporter pointed out that her passport had been revoked by the interim government, complicating any legal return, the minister was blunt, saying that was her problem, not his, and that whenever she entered Bangladeshi territory, he would enforce the authority vested in him by law.

Background: Conviction, Extradition Request

Hasina's 15-year rule ended in August 2024 after violent, student-led street protests forced her from power, following which she fled to India. An interim government that subsequently took charge disbanded her Awami League party through an executive order invoking anti-terror law.

In November 2025, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia after Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal convicted her of crimes against humanity over her role in the violent crackdown on the 2024 protests. Rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticised the tribunal proceedings as flawed, and the UN human rights office has also raised questions about their fairness. Hasina herself has dismissed the charges against her as politically motivated.

The death sentence adds to a string of earlier arrest warrants issued against her by the tribunal, including ones tied to allegations of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances during her tenure, and warrants connected specifically to the mass killings during the July-August 2024 uprising.

Political Backdrop in Bangladesh

Elections were held in Bangladesh earlier this year, after which the Bangladesh Nationalist Party came to power, with Tarique Rahman taking charge as the country's new prime minister. Dhaka has been pursuing Hasina's extradition from India for some time, and New Delhi has acknowledged receiving the request, maintaining that it remains under legal consideration.

Hasina's continued presence in India, and the lack of movement on her extradition, has been a recurring point of friction between New Delhi and Dhaka since her ouster. Her last confirmed public whereabouts trace back to a military airbase near the Indian capital shortly after she fled Bangladesh in 2024, and she has largely stayed out of the public eye since.

What This Means Going Forward

With Hasina now publicly signalling an intent to return before the year is out, and Dhaka's law minister making clear that arrest — not a court surrender — would be her first stop, the coming months could set up a significant legal and political confrontation. The government's position leaves little room for a negotiated or ceremonial homecoming: any attempt by Hasina to cross into Bangladeshi territory, officials indicate, would trigger immediate enforcement action under the standing death sentence and other outstanding warrants.

For now, the matter remains at an impasse — Hasina says she is prepared to face whatever consequences await her, the interim government insists the law will simply take its course, and India has yet to indicate how, or whether, it will act on Dhaka's extradition request.