Published : 09 Nov 2026, 10:31 AM
Updated : 09 Nov 2026, 10:31 AM
Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during the July Uprising, has requested a new passport and identity card on Monday so she can return to Bangladesh from India, Reuters reports.
The request was in a letter seen by Reuters, which says it was her first such communication since fleeing in 2024.
It is the clearest step the Awami League president has taken on her announced plan to return to Bangladesh in December, two years after a mass uprising put an end to her decade and a half in power.
Her return would raise the possibility of fresh political and legal tensions in Bangladesh, where her party is currently banned.
Hasina told Reuters she plans to return to surrender before a court. Her aides told the newswire service on Monday the date would be announced once formalities were completed.
She was tried and sentenced to death in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal in November last year for the deadly crackdown on student protesters in 2024. She has denied the charges.
"In view of the reported revocation of her existing Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card (NID) by the interim government and other authorities, I respectfully request that you take the necessary steps to issue a new Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card for our client," Hasina's lawyers at London-based Matrix Chambers wrote to Preeti Rahman, acting high commissioner at Bangladesh's embassy in Delhi, Reuters reports.
It asked for the applications to be processed "expeditiously" on the basis of her Bangladeshi nationality and in accordance with "obligations arising under international human rights instruments".
Acting High Commissioner Rahman and spokespeople for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Many of Hasina’s party colleagues have either been jailed or have been in self-imposed exile in India or elsewhere since her government was toppled.
Despite her convictions for crimes against humanity, her party still enjoys support from some sections of Bangladesh’s population. Her return could sharpen political divides in the country and threaten Dhaka’s attempts to restore stability after more than two years of upheaval.
However, the return could also ease Bangladesh strained ties with Delhi, which deteriorated sharply when it allowed Hasina refuge after the fall of her government.
