Exiled PM Hasina Pledges Bangladesh Return Despite Death Sentence

Former Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina, exiled in India since a 2024 student uprising toppled her government, has vowed to return by December 2026. She faces a death sentence imposed in absentia — meaning she was not present for the trial — over the violent suppression of protests that killed up to 1,400 people. Bangladesh's government says she would be arrested on arrival. Hasina calls the verdict politically motivated.