Toppled Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina to speak today: What we can expect

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was dramatically ousted pursuing a brutal crackdown connected protesters successful 2024 and fled to India, is expected to marque a uncommon nationalist quality aft 2 years successful exile successful New Delhi connected Wednesday.

Two years aft the events of the summertime of 2024, which saw an uprising by young radical protesting against a preservation strategy for authorities jobs crook violent, the 78-year-old is owed to look via videolink astatine an lawsuit hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) of South ‌Asia, alongside her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and different Awami League leaders, including erstwhile Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel.

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Dhaka continues to question Hasina’s extradition from India pursuing past year’s decease condemnation passed against her successful absentia for ordering forces to occurrence connected protesters.

New Delhi, which has allowed her to stay and resisted attempts to extradite her to Bangladesh, has denied immoderate relation successful readying the virtual speech, saying the lawsuit has been organised by a backstage media organisation.

On Tuesday, Bangladeshi authorities banned section media from airing her speech. Hasina’s aide, Abu Obaidha Arin, slammed the move, saying Dhaka’s “efforts to soundlessness dissent cannot extinguish voices” beyond the country’s borders.

Why is Sheikh Hasina successful exile?

Hasina has been surviving successful self-imposed exile successful New Delhi since student-led ⁠protests toppled her Awami League authorities successful August 2024. A caretaker authorities took implicit aft she fled, earlier elections were held earlier this year.

She was accused of ordering information forces to ace down brutally connected protesters, including telling officers to “shoot them“, and was sentenced to death successful absentia successful 2025 for crimes against humanity, a verdict she has dismissed arsenic “legally void”. An estimated 1,400 radical were killed during the crackdown, and much than 20,000 were injured.

Bangladesh’s interim authorities had called for the decease punishment successful narration to that, arsenic good arsenic for 1,500 cases of enforced disappearances during her 17-year rule, according to an authoritative inquiry. Many of those detained were governmental rivals from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Activists clash with the constabulary during a march successful Dhaka, Bangladesh, connected Tuesday, July 30, 2024 [File: Rajib Dhar/AP]

How has Bangladesh responded to Hasina’s plans to speak?

The authorities has banned Bangladeshi media from broadcasting her speech.

In January, Hasina made an audio code which was played to a packed FCC successful New Delhi. In it, she accused Muhammad Yunus, the caput of Bangladesh’s then-interim government, of being a “murderous fascist” and said Bangladesh would “never acquisition escaped and just elections” nether him. More than 100,000 radical listened to the address, which was broadcast online.

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was “surprised and shocked” that she had been allowed to marque the code from India.

“Allowing the lawsuit to instrumentality spot successful the Indian superior and letting wide murderer Hasina openly present her hatred code … represent a wide affront to the radical and the Government of Bangladesh,” the ministry said successful a connection connected Sunday astir the code – Hasina’s archetypal since she was ousted.

The Foreign Ministry’s connection added that Hasina had “openly called for the removal” of the interim authorities and issued “blatant incitements to her enactment loyalists and the wide nationalist to transportation retired acts of terror” to derail the elections, which were held connected February 12 this year.

With Hasina successful exile successful India, hundreds of families who mislaid loved ones successful the protests person been near wondering if the deposed premier curate volition look justice.

Among them is Shaina Begum, the parent of 20-year-old pupil Sajjat Hosen Sojal, who was changeable and his assemblage burned by the police hours earlier the student-led uprising forced Hasina to resign and fly the country.

“I cannot beryllium calm until she [Hasina] is brought backmost and hanged successful this country,” she told Al Jazeera aft the erstwhile leader’s decease condemnation was announced.

What is Hasina expected to accidental successful her speech?

Hasina’s code volition people 2 years of her government’s autumn connected August 5, 2024, erstwhile she fled to India by helicopter.

She is expected to springiness immoderate denotation of her governmental aboriginal astatine the event, which is titled “Sheikh Hasina’s homecoming”.

Last month, the erstwhile premier curate said she and different Awami League leaders planned to instrumentality from exile successful December this twelvemonth and contiguous themselves astatine court.

“I whitethorn beryllium killed. I whitethorn beryllium arrested. I whitethorn beryllium sent to prison,” Hasina told the AFP quality agency. “I americium afloat alert of my fate. Still, I privation to spell backmost due to the fact that my radical are calling me.”

Returning to Bangladesh contempt a decease condemnation hanging implicit her is seen by immoderate arsenic an effort to stay politically applicable and revive an outlawed enactment that erstwhile dominated Bangladesh. The Awami League was barred from participating successful this year’s elections, successful which the BNP, led by Tarique Rahman, won a two-thirds majority.

Smruti Pattanaik, probe chap astatine the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses successful New Delhi, said Hasina’s program to denote her instrumentality is likey aimed astatine mobilising Awami League members and providing them with immoderate direction.

Going backmost to Bangladesh “will let her enactment to task that it is not frightened to look the charges”, Pattanaik told Al Jazeera. If the Awami League is to survive, “the enactment needs to deliberation of the party’s aboriginal alternatively than idiosyncratic gain”.

The caller authorities led by Rahman is improbable to invited her back. Under Hasina’s rule, Rahman’s mother, erstwhile person Khaleda Zia, who died successful December past year, spent years successful jailhouse successful Dhaka connected corruption charges, which the BNP says were politically motivated.

Some observers person warned that the instrumentality of Hasina, who inactive has a sizeable pursuing successful Bangladesh who she whitethorn beryllium capable to mobilise, risks creating governmental instability.

Dhaka has repeatedly requested Hasina’s extradition, and New Delhi says the petition is being examined done its ineligible processes.

In November past year, the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry cited an extradition statement with India and said it was an “obligatory responsibility” for New Delhi to guarantee Hasina’s deportation. It added that it “would beryllium a highly unfriendly enactment and a disregard for justice” for India to proceed to supply Hasina refuge.

But India has agelong been seen arsenic Hasina’s top state and is understood to beryllium reluctant to unit her return. Under her leadership, New Delhi was granted economical and information practice with Bangladesh, including lucrative deals connected energy, commercialized infrastructure and defence.

Political analysts successful India told Al Jazeera successful November past twelvemonth that an objection exists successful the extradition pact successful cases successful which the offence is “of a governmental character”.

“India understands this [Hasina’s case] to beryllium governmental vindictiveness of the ruling governmental forces successful Bangladesh,” said Sanjay Bhardwaj, a prof of South Asian studies astatine the Jawaharlal Nehru University successful New Delhi.

In New Delhi’s view, Bhardwaj said, Bangladesh is contiguous ruled by “anti-India forces”.

The then-interim leader, Yunus, often criticised India, and leaders of the protestation question that ousted Hasina person often blamed New Delhi for its enactment for the erstwhile premier minister.

However, India-Bangladesh relations person improved since Rahman became premier curate successful February. India has invited him to a BRICS acme successful September.

Dhaka had asked New Delhi ⁠to clarify its stance connected Hasina’s planned address, informing India that allowing governmental activities by a fugitive could wounded improving bilateral ties.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir ⁠Jaiswal said connected Tuesday the lawsuit was being organised by a backstage media entity.

“The ⁠government has nary engagement whatsoever successful it, neither does it endorse immoderate views that whitethorn beryllium expressed astatine the forum,” helium told a media briefing.