- By Supratik Das
- Mon, 17 Nov 2025 07:53 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given her most extensive and hard-hitting statement just hours before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) in Dhaka delivers its verdict against her on Monday.
Speaking from a secure refuge in New Delhi, Hasina said her August 2024 ouster was not a popular uprising but a “calculated hijacking of democracy,” accompanied by the destruction of national history and a dangerous resurgence of extremist groups.
Hasina, 78, spoke to NDTV from a secure refuge in New Delhi, where she has lived since fleeing Dhaka during the violent “July Uprising.” The tribunal is scheduled to pronounce its judgment on Monday in a case accusing her of crimes against humanity—charges she describes as “fabricated” and “politically timed.”
Hasina Recounts August 5 Ouster, Alleges Minority Attacks
While speaking to NDTV, Hasina said that what began as student protests over job quota policies “was quickly weaponised by anti-democratic forces,” triggering violent street clashes that left her with no option but to flee. “The situation collapsed at a pace none of us could have imagined. Staying in Dhaka would have caused more bloodshed,” she said. Calling her exit “the most painful moment of my life,” she accused those behind the unrest of reversing years of economic gains and cracking the country’s secular foundations.
Hasina also condemned the mob attack on her family’s iconic residence, 32 Dhanmondi, calling it a “barbaric attempt to erase the Liberation War’s legacy.” She accused state-backed actors of trying to rewrite history and dismantle the ideals of “democracy, equality, and secularism” championed by her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Hasina accused the interim administration of enabling targeted attacks on Hindu and other minority communities, alleging widespread vandalism of temples, forced displacement and “systematic attempts to erase religious pluralism.” She claimed individuals with known links to radical groups have been elevated into positions of power. “This is not a democratic transition. It is an authoritarian consolidation,” she warned.
Security Forces Told To ‘Shoot Violent Protesters’
Bangladesh remains tense ahead of Monday’s verdict. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has been deployed in Dhaka, Gopalganj, Faridpur, and Madaripur. Police in the capital have been authorised to shoot anyone involved in arson or crude bomb attacks, officials confirmed. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Sazzat Ali said legal provisions permit such action when public safety is under threat. Several pre-dawn attacks and crude explosions in the past two days have heightened concerns.
Chief prosecutor Tajul Islam reiterated on Sunday that the state has sought the “highest possible punishment,” including seizure of assets, alleging Hasina “masterminded” lethal crackdowns during last year’s unrest. Hasina and her then–home minister Asaduzzaman Khan were tried in absentia.