Toppled Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina to speak today: What we can expect
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, living in exile in India since her 2024 ouster, is scheduled to make a rare public appearance via videolink on Wednesday despite facing a death sentence in absentia. Bangladesh's interim government has banned local media from broadcasting her speech, which will also feature her son and other Awami League leaders.
Sheikh Hasina, the 78-year-old former prime minister of Bangladesh, is preparing to address the public through a videolink appearance organized by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia. The event marks a significant moment for Hasina, who has remained in self-imposed exile in New Delhi since August 2024, when student-led protests toppled her Awami League government. She will be joined by her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and other party leaders including former Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel.
Hasina's legal situation remains precarious. Bangladesh's government sentenced her to death in absentia in 2025 on charges related to crimes against humanity, a verdict she has dismissed as legally invalid. The charges stem from her government's response to the 2024 protests, during which security forces conducted a brutal crackdown that resulted in approximately 1,400 deaths and over 20,000 injuries. She has also faced accusations of ordering security forces to suppress protesters and has been charged in connection with 1,500 cases of enforced disappearances during her 17-year tenure.
Dhaka has actively sought Hasina's extradition from India, but New Delhi has resisted these efforts and allowed her to remain. The Indian government has denied involvement in organizing the videolink address, characterizing it as a private media initiative. Bangladesh's authorities have taken steps to limit the speech's reach domestically, banning local media outlets from broadcasting the event.
This appearance follows a January address in which Hasina delivered an audio message to a packed audience at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in New Delhi. In that speech, she criticized Muhammad Yunus, who headed Bangladesh's interim government, and expressed concerns about the country's electoral future. The January address reached more than 100,000 listeners through online broadcast, prompting Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express surprise and disapproval that India had permitted the event.
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