Ex-Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina Seeks Passport to Return and Face Trial

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in 2024 following a deadly uprising and was subsequently sentenced to death in absentia, is planning to return to her homeland as early as next month. According to a letter obtained by Reuters, lawyers for the ousted leader submitted an urgent request to the Bangladeshi embassy in New Delhi last week to issue her a new passport and national identity card after her previous documents were revoked by the transitional authorities. Hasina intends to surrender to the judiciary in her home country, despite the capital punishment handed down against her over her role in the violent suppression of the protests that ousted her government.

The formal request, filed by her legal team from the London-based Matrix Chambers to the interim chargé d'affaires at the embassy, Priti Rahman, places the government in Dhaka before a complex legal dilemma that threatens to reignite political and judicial fissures. Hasina told Reuters that she is determined to return to Bangladesh to face the courts, with associates indicating that her exact return date will be announced once administrative procedures are finalized. Last November, a war crimes tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death in absentia for ordering a brutal crackdown on the student-led uprising, charges that Hasina has vehemently denied from exile.

The legal petition urged officials to process the passport application swiftly in accordance with her Bangladeshi citizenship and international human rights obligations. Meanwhile, representatives at the New Delhi embassy and the office of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka have yet to issue an official response to the diplomatic and legal maneuver.

Hasina's potential return threatens to upend the local political landscape. Her party, the Awami League, was the country's largest before being banned following her ouster, with many of its senior officials imprisoned or driven into exile. Although she ruled for decades across multiple terms and retains pockets of public support, her homecoming could deepen societal fractures as the current administration struggles to stabilize the nation. Conversely, the move could potentially help ease strained diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and India, which deteriorated significantly after New Delhi granted refuge to the deposed leader.