What is Hasina’s game plan as she seeks a passport to return to Bangladesh?

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina wants a new passport to return to the country next month, more than two years after fleeing to India following a mass uprising that forced her from power.

The 79-year-old former prime minister was sentenced to death in absentia last year for crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown on the student-led protests in 2024, a charge she denies.

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She faces the prospect of being hanged upon her return, as the government that succeeded her remains a staunch political opponent.

Dhaka has already rejected the passport request and has challenged Hasina to seek extradition from India if she is serious about returning home.

“Bangladesh does not give passports to terrorists who kill thousands of people and flee. It will work under the current extradition arrangements with India to pursue and get the terrorist Hasina handed over,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir told Al Jazeera.

On Tuesday, the Bangladeshi prosecutor Md Aminul Islam, who secured the death sentence for Hasina at the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal, said she will be executed if she returns home.

“Sheikh Hasina has no option but to face the execution of the verdict,” Islam told reporters.

 Dhaka, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina wants a new passport to return to the country next month, more than two years after fleeing to India following a mass uprising that forced her from power.

The 79-year-old former prime minister was sentenced to death in absentia last year for crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown on the student-led protests in 2024, a charge she denies.