Despite being sentenced to death, Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she will return to Bangladesh in December this year.

The 78-year-old Hasina announced this via video from India at an event held Wednesday by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia. Her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and former Awami League Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel also took part.

“Even if I am arrested or jailed, I will not abandon the work I must do for the people out of fear,” Hasina said, adding that she “will not stay away while her own people are suffering.” She said the exact date of her return would be announced later, but the target is December this year.

After her government collapsed in 2024 following the student-led uprising in Bangladesh, Hasina flew by helicopter to New Delhi. She was subsequently tried in Dhaka on charges of crimes against humanity — including incitement to murder, ordering killings, and failure to prevent inhumane acts — and sentenced to death by hanging. Hasina refused to appear at the Dhaka trial.

Her son Joy said the ban on her party, the Awami League, must be lifted, and that they are not engaging with the current Bangladesh government.

Hasina’s remarks come as Bangladesh and India are working to repair their strained relationship. While Dhaka has repeatedly requested her extradition, New Delhi says the request is under legal review. Ties between the two countries have begun to warm since Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took office, and India has invited him to the BRICS summit scheduled for September.

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters the day before Hasina’s statement was released, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government had no involvement in her remarks and does not endorse what is said in that forum.