‘Democracy has ...’: Deposed Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina slams Yunus government

Hasina stated that Bangladesh is facing an unprecedented crisis marked by democratic backsliding, institutional misuse and growing insecurity among citizens.

Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has mounted her strongest attack yet on the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, accusing it of presiding over a constitutional breakdown, targeting her family and party through politically motivated prosecutions, and allowing law and order to deteriorate sharply.

In a rare, detailed interaction from exile, Hasina, speaking to CNN-News18's Shalinder Wangoo, stated that Bangladesh is facing an unprecedented crisis marked by democratic backsliding, institutional misuse and growing insecurity among citizens.

“Our country is under deep strain,” Hasina said. “Democracy is threatened, law and order has nearly vanished, and ordinary people are living in fear.”

Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia by the ICT for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the July-August 2024 protests, described the tribunal as “rigged” and constitutionally invalid. She argued that the Yunus-led administration illegally expanded the ICT’s mandate through executive orders without parliamentary approval.

“The ICT was created to prosecute the crimes of 1971, not to settle contemporary political disputes,” she said, warning that verdicts delivered under the altered framework would “haunt the nation”.

She maintained that she was denied the right to choose counsel, challenge evidence, or present an effective defence. “This was never about justice,” Hasina said. “It was about destroying the Awami League.”

Furthermore, reflecting on the student-led protests that ultimately forced her resignation and flight to India, Hasina acknowledged legitimate grievances but blamed “irresponsible political actors” for escalating unrest.

“What began as peaceful protests were turned into uncontrollable street violence,” she said. “The loss of innocent lives was tragic, and history will judge harshly if there is no honest accounting.”

The UN estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed during the unrest.

Hasina also dismissed corruption convictions against her and her family, including sentences handed to her sister Sheikh Rehana and niece, UK MP Tulip Siddiq, as politically motivated.

“No persuasive evidence was produced because none exists,” she said. “These were trials in absentia, designed for score-settling, not justice," she noted.

She said she would contest all verdicts and urged international scrutiny of Bangladesh’s judicial processes.

Defending her 15-year tenure, Hasina highlighted economic growth, infrastructure expansion, and poverty reduction, citing IMF data showing GDP growth of 450 percent during her time in office.

“Millions were lifted out of poverty. Those gains are real and enduring,” she remarked. “Yunus and his cronies will never achieve anything remotely comparable," she said.

On the ban imposed on the Awami League ahead of the February 2026 elections, Hasina warned that excluding the country’s largest party would strip the polls of legitimacy. “We have been elected nine times since 1971,” she said, further adding, “It is madness to exclude tens of millions of voters.”

She also expressed alarm over rising attacks on Hindu and other minority communities, accusing the interim government of denial and inaction. “Protecting minorities is a basic duty of the state,” she noted.

Hasina accused Yunus of overreach, arguing that an unelected interim government has no mandate to remake institutions or freeze personal assets.

“An interim government should be limited and temporary,” she said. “Instead, courts have been weaponised, the media silenced, and elections delayed.”

On Bangladesh’s evolving ties with Pakistan, she warned that weakened oversight could embolden extremist groups. “National security must never be compromised,” she said.

From exile, Hasina said she would only consider returning to Bangladesh once democracy, constitutional rule, and guarantees of safety and due process are restored.

“My vision is a reconciled Bangladesh,” she noted. “Healing can begin only when the rule of law is real, politics is inclusive, and justice is impartial," said the exiled Bangladeshi PM in New Delhi.