Sheikh Hasina will land in jail if she returns: Bangladesh minister

Deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina will be jailed if she returns to Bangladesh, a state minister said on Monday (July 13, 2026), amid reports that the banned Awami League leader is preparing to return to Dhaka by December.

Hasina, the 78-year-old daughter of Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was toppled in a violent student-led street protest on August 5, 2024. She has been living in India since she fled Dhaka following the collapse of her government.

“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,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam was quoted as saying by the state-run BSS news agency.

Ms. Shama said that the government would proceed strictly in accordance with the existing legal framework if Hasina surrenders.

Last week, sources close to Hasina said she is preparing to return to Dhaka by December. It is a completely voluntary decision, they added.

“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,” Ms. Shama told reporters.

She said that Hasina has already been convicted and, therefore, the government has nothing to consider regarding the statements of a convicted person.

In November last, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in Dhaka for alleged “crimes against humanity” over her government’s brutal crackdown on student-led protests in 2024.

Hasina has dismissed the death penalty, criminal convictions and charges against her as “politically motivated”.

Since the verdict, Dhaka has been urging New Delhi to extradite her to face the law.

Ms. Shama said the process to bring Hasina began during the previous interim regime and is now being pursued by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government.

She said the legal process would determine the next course of action once Hasina returns to Bangladesh.

Commenting on Hasina’s plans to return home, the minister said she viewed the comments as an attempt to encourage Awami League leaders and activists who had gone into hiding or left 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.