Hasina will die in jail or exile, says former US diplomat

Former US diplomat Jon Danilowicz on Monday said that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has no place in Bangladesh, as discussion continues over her return to the country following the convict’s latest interview with the Indian media outlet NDTV.

“Hasina will die in jail or in exile…………The sooner the Awami League realizes this and embraces reform, the better for everyone in Bangladesh,” the former US deputy ambassador to Bangladesh wrote in X, formerly known as Twitter.

In an email interview with NDTV, the ousted prime minister has vowed to return to Bangladesh this year, defying the death sentence handed down in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity.

Hasina was sentenced to death last November for “incitement, ordering killings, and failing to prevent atrocities” linked to the July Uprising in 2024.

“I want to say clearly: overcoming every obstacle and every conspiracy, I will return to my country this year,” she told NDTV.

Hasina, currently residing in India, fled the country on August 5, 2024 after millions took to the streets to protest the killings of hundreds of protesters by the security forces.

A fact-finding report by the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) last year revealed that up to 1,400 people were killed during the July Uprising.