Prosecutor says Hasina missed deadline to appeal conviction, leaving her with no further legal recourse
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The Bangladeshi prosecutor who secured the death sentence against ousted leader Sheikh Hasina said on Tuesday she will be executed if she returns home.
Hasina, whose 15-year rule was ended by a mass uprising she tried to crush, has vowed to return in December to Bangladesh, where she was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over the 2024 crackdown on protesters.
“Sheikh Hasina has no option but to face the execution of the verdict,” Md Aminul Islam told reporters, responding to reports she planned to return from self-imposed exile in India.
He added that she missed the deadline to appeal her conviction, leaving her with no further legal recourse. “The statute says that an appeal must be filed within 30 days of the delivery of the judgement,” he said.
Hasina, 79, fled to neighbouring India by helicopter in August 2024 as angry crowds stormed her palace. She has remained there ever since, hidden from public view. Only occasionally has she addressed news conferences by telephone, her voice sounding frail.
Read: Bangladesh sentences to death seven key aides of ousted premier Hasina
Hasina has repeatedly said she intends to return to Bangladesh in December, telling AFP she is “fully aware” she faces being hanged if she returns. She said “fear cannot decide” her “duty to the people”.
Critics have accused Hasina of jailing political rivals, enacting harsh anti-press laws and overseeing widespread human rights abuses, including the killing of opposition activists.
Her 2024 crackdown left up to 1,400 people dead, according to the United Nations.
Hasina defied orders from the court to return to Bangladesh to attend her trial last year on whether she bore command responsibility for the bloody crackdown on the student-led uprising. Witnesses included a man whose face was ripped apart by a gunshot. Hasina, who was assigned a state-appointed lawyer, called the trial a “jurisprudential joke”.
Read More:Â Hasina seeks new passport in clearest sign of Bangladesh return
In November 2025, a court in Dhaka sentenced her to death in absentia after finding her guilty on three counts of crimes against humanity, including incitement, ordering killings and failing to prevent atrocities.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry has sought her extradition from India, which says the request is under legal review. Her continued presence there has strained relations between the neighbouring countries.
She also faces a string of other cases, including corruption charges.
