In a rare and unyielding interview from her exile in India, Awami League President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has voiced deep regret for the “needless” loss of life during last year’s deadly crackdown on student protests, while vehemently denouncing the ongoing trial against her as a “judicial mockery” orchestrated by political foes.
The 78-year-old leader, who fled to India in August 2024 amid a student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule, spoke to This Week in Asia just days before a Dhaka tribunal is set to deliver its verdict on charges of crimes against humanity.
Hasina’s words, delivered with a mix of sorrow and resolve, come at a tense moment for Bangladesh. The interim administration under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is pushing forward with reforms and plans for elections by February 2026 but faces accusations from Hasina’s camp of sidelining the millions who back her Awami League party.
A Lament for the Lost, But No Apology for Action
Reflecting on the chaos that began as peaceful demonstrations against job quotas in government positions, Hasina acknowledged the human cost with uncharacteristic candour.
“I regret the needless bloodshed that occurred,” she said, her voice steady but laced with emotion during the virtual conversation from her secure residence in New Delhi. The protests, she explained, had “darkened into mob violence,” with demonstrators torching public buildings, attacking police, and unleashing widespread anarchy that her government could no longer contain.
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The toll was staggering: the United Nations estimates put the death count at around 1,400 between July and August 2024, as security forces fired on crowds in a bid to restore order, but the Yunus regime could document only 834, with over 50 found to be fake martyrs in an investigation by the daily Prothom Alo.
Hasina, daughter of Bangladesh’s independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, defended the response as a necessary defense of the state. “What started as a legitimate grievance was hijacked by extremists and opposition elements intent on regime change,” she said. “My administration acted to protect lives and property—not to massacre innocents. The real violence came from those who burned vehicles, stormed institutions, and called for my head.”
This marks one of Hasina’s most direct expressions of remorse since her flight, contrasting with earlier statements where she blamed “terror acts” by protesters for post-uprising vandalism. Yet, she stopped short of a full apology, framing the crackdown as a tragic inevitability in the face of what she described as a “coordinated insurrection” backed by rivals like the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Islamist groups.
The Trial: A ‘Political Hatchet Job’ or Justice Served?
At the heart of the interview was Hasina’s blistering critique of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) in Dhaka, which began her in absentia trial in June 2025 on charges including mass murder, torture, and genocide-like acts. Prosecutors, led by Tajul Islam, have demanded the death penalty—not once, but 1,400 times over, one for each alleged victim—citing audio recordings that purportedly capture Hasina ordering “lethal weapons” against protesters. The tribunal, originally established by Hasina in 2010 to probe 1971 war crimes, now turns its gaze on her, an irony she did not miss.
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“This is no trial; it’s a judicial mockery, a political hatchet job driven by my rivals,” Hasina declared, her tone sharpening. She accused the Yunus-led interim government of weaponising the courts to eliminate opposition, pointing to the arrests of Awami League leaders and the freezing of party assets as evidence of a vendetta.
“They parade fabricated evidence and ignore the consent of millions who voted for us in free and fair elections,” she added, referencing her party’s sweeping victories in 2014, 2018, and 2024—polls critics long decried as rigged.
Hasina’s defiance extends to extradition efforts. Bangladesh has formally requested her return from India, but New Delhi—a longstanding ally during her tenure—has shown no urgency, citing the need for “solid evidence” in what experts call a “diplomatic bind.” “India knows the truth,” Hasina said. “They won’t hand me over to a kangaroo court. This is about justice, not revenge.”
Her words echo recent rallies by Awami League supporters abroad, including a November 13 protest at The Hague’s International Court of Justice, where expatriates filed complaints against Yunus for alleged human rights abuses under his watch.
Elections Without ‘Consent’: A Recipe for Chaos?
Turning to the future, Hasina warned that Yunus’s reform agenda—including constitutional overhauls and anti-corruption drives—risks deepening divisions. The interim leader, appointed after Hasina’s ouster, has vowed “ambitious reforms” to uproot the “autocratic and corrupt” elements of her era, but Hasina sees it as exclusionary.
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“They plan elections without the consent of my party’s supporters—that’s not democracy; that’s dictatorship in disguise,” she charged.
Analysts note the high stakes: With the tribunal’s verdict looming on November 17, empty streets and heavy security blanketed Dhaka on November 13, as fears of reprisal violence mounted. Hasina, who steered Bangladesh’s economy to rapid growth but at the cost of accusations of authoritarianism, positioned herself as the guardian of secularism and progress.
“I built this nation from the ashes of 1971. They can’t erase that with show trials,” she concluded.
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