Bangladesh¡¯s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina vowed to return to her country despite facing a death sentence, calling it her ¡°duty¡± to help rescue a country she described as sliding into economic distress and democratic decline.

¡°My decision to return to Bangladesh is not about personal desire or political ambition. It is about duty,¡± Hasina said in a written response to Bloomberg News.

Hasina, 78, has lived in exile in India since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024 after a student-led uprising ended her 15-year rule. A special tribunal last year sentenced the former prime minister to death in absentia after convicting her of crimes against humanity over the deadly crackdown on the protests.

The United Nations estimates the violence killed about 1,400 people. Authorities have also banned Hasina¡¯s Awami League party, and she faces multiple additional criminal cases.

¡°A death sentence, false cases and staged trials cannot frighten me,¡± Hasina said. She also called the death penalty ¡°part of an illegal, unconstitutional and politically motivated process.¡±

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, took office earlier this year after winning an election from which Hasina¡¯s party was barred. The new government has taken a legaliztic stance on her planned return, insisting she will face justice.

Bangladesh¡¯s Law Minister M. Asaduzzaman said in late July that Hasina would likely be arrested immediately if she returned from India, before she had the opportunity to surrender before a court.

In her written response, Hasina said she did not leave Bangladesh by choice, saying she had ¡°only 30 to 40 minutes¡± to evacuate her official residence as protesters approached and that she ¡°did not even know I was leaving the country.¡± She said she had instead prepared to travel to Tungipara, her ancestral hometown.

New Delhi had backed Hasina for years, and her exile in India has been a source of diplomatic tension between the neighbors. Since the change in government in Dhaka, however, India has sought to reset ties with Bangladesh¡¯s new leadership.

Hasina also denied that there had been any back-channel discussions with the BNP-led government before she announced her intention to return to Bangladesh.

¡°I know anything can happen to me but Bangladesh needs reconciliation,¡± she told journalists in New Delhi at a press conference, which she joined remotely from an undisclosed location. ¡°I have decided to be with my people in December,¡± she said, without giving a specific date for her return.