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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a> <\/em>just days before a Dhaka tribunal is set to deliver its verdict on charges of crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Lament for the Lost, But No Apology for Action<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflecting on the chaos that began as peaceful demonstrations against job quotas in government positions, Hasina acknowledged the human cost with uncharacteristic candour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Awami League Storms The Hague: Complaint filed against fascist Yunus at ICJ<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awami League declares shutdown on Nov 16-17 after successful Dhaka Lockdown<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awami League\u2019s Lockdown: Yunus regime\u2019s blasts, arsons turn boomerang<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2014not to massacre innocents. The real violence came from those who burned vehicles, stormed institutions, and called for my head.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Trial: A ‘Political Hatchet Job’ or Justice Served?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2014not once, but 1,400 times over, one for each alleged victim\u2014citing 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interview With PTI: Sheikh Hasina slams Yunus for empowering extremists<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sheikh Hasina condemns Delhi car blast, says Pakistan is root of terrorism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Trump to Hasina: BBC scandals unmasked as Yunus\u2019 smear campaign goes global<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n “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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “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\u2014polls critics long decried as rigged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hasina’s defiance extends to extradition efforts. Bangladesh has formally requested her return from India, but New Delhi\u2014a longstanding ally during her tenure\u2014has 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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elections Without ‘Consent’: A Recipe for Chaos?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Turning to the future, Hasina warned that Yunus’s reform agenda\u2014including constitutional overhauls and anti-corruption drives\u2014risks 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interview With TNEI: Sheikh Hasina rebuffs graft charges, vows to return to elections <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Interview With HT: Yunus is sponsoring extremists, says Sheikh Hasina<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n