In exile in New Delhi, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she lives “quietly and freely” while facing war-crimes charges at home.
In interviews with Reuters, AFP, and the Independent, Hasina said she had “no intention of seeking asylum beyond India.” The 78-year-old former leader described her trial as politically motivated and denied directing security forces to fire on protesters during the July 2024 Uprising.
She said she sometimes walks through Delhi’s Lodhi Gardens but remains cautious because of her family’s violent history; her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was assassinated in a 1975 coup. Hasina said Bangladesh must “return to constitutional rule and political stability” and that no single person or family defines the country’s future.
Prosecutors have sought the death penalty, with the verdict expected on November 13.