Bangladeshi Prosecutor Warns Ousted Leader Sheikh Hasina Will Face Execution If She Returns Home

DHAKA: 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 convicted of 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 neighbouring India. He added that the 79-year-old fugitive had missed the deadline to appeal against her conviction, leaving her with no further legal recourse. "The statutory appeal period has expired, and no appeal can now be filed," he said. The daughter of a revolutionary who led Bangladesh to independence in 1971, Hasina presided over breakneck economic growth, helping transform the South Asian nation of 170 million people from a largely agricultural economy into a global manufacturing hub. 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. She 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. 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".