Bangladesh protests Sheikh Hasina media appearance from New Delhi

Sheikh Hasina’s first media appearance since fleeing Bangladesh triggered a diplomatic protest within hours.

Speaking to journalists from New Delhi in a virtual event hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, the ousted Bangladeshi prime minister said she was determined to return home in December despite facing a death sentence in absentia, according to The Guardian and Scroll.in. Dhaka responded by accusing India of giving her a platform and renewed its demand that India extradite her.

The immediate dispute is procedural—Bangladesh’s foreign ministry says it had conveyed concerns to New Delhi about the “likely ramifications” of allowing the event, and called Hasina’s participation on Indian soil an affront to sovereignty. India’s foreign ministry sought distance, saying the press conference was organised by a private media entity and that New Delhi had no role and would not endorse political views expressed. In practice, the argument is about custody and control: Hasina is living in India after fleeing in 2024, and every public appearance becomes a test of how far India is willing to shelter a former partner without formally owning her politics.

Hasina’s remarks also reopen the unresolved accounting of the protests that ended her 15-year rule. Scroll.in cites Bangladesh accusing her of denying “facts established by the United Nations” about killings during the 2024 unrest; The Guardian reports Dhaka labelled her a “convicted genocider.” A UN finding in 2025 said repression and killings under Hasina’s government could amount to “crimes against humanity,” according to Scroll.in—language that turns extradition from a bilateral irritant into a reputational issue for any host state.

Hasina, for her part, framed her planned return around symbolism and timing. She said she wanted to go back in December because it is Bangladesh’s “month of victory,” commemorating Pakistan’s defeat in the 1971 independence war, The Guardian reports. She also accused the new government led by Tarique Rahman of economic mismanagement and persecution of her supporters, while calling India a “great friend” that stood by Bangladesh in difficult times, according to Scroll.in. The effect is to drag India into Bangladesh’s domestic legitimacy fight: either India curtails her platform and angers a long-time ally’s base, or it tolerates her visibility and absorbs the diplomatic cost.

The spillover was visible the same day. Former national cricket captain Shakib Al Hasan appeared alongside Hasina at the event, and hours later unidentified attackers vandalised his home in Bangladesh with petrol bombs and smashed windows, with no injuries reported, The Guardian and Scroll.in say. Shakib, elected to parliament as an Awami League candidate, has remained outside Bangladesh since Hasina’s overthrow.

Hasina spoke from New Delhi; the retaliation landed at a private home back in Bangladesh.