Sheikh Hasina claims assassination plot in audio note: ‘Escaped death by 20-25 minutes…’

Bangladesh's Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina alleged that plans to kill her and her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, were made as soon as she was ousted from office last year.

"Rehana and I survived—we escaped death by just 20-25 minutes," Sheikh Hasina said in an audio message shared on the Facebook page of her Bangladesh Awami League party late on Friday.

In August last year, a student-led movement forced Bangladesh's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, out of office following weeks of protests and violent clashes that left over 600 dead. The 76-year-old leader fled to India, and an interim government headed by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was established.

Recalling that there were conspiracies to kill her at various times, she said, “I feel it is the will of Allah that I have survived the killings on August 21, the bombing in Kotalipara or surviving on August 5, 2024. Otherwise, I would not have been able to survive.”

She was referring to the grenade attack on August 21, 2004, which left her injured but claimed the lives of at least 24 people. She also mentioned the Kotalipara bomb conspiracy, where bombs were discovered in July 2000 at a college she was scheduled to visit.

“You later saw how they planned to kill me. However, it seems to be a mercy of Allah that I am still alive because Allah wants me to do something more," she said, adding, “I am suffering, I am without my country, without my home, everything has been burned."

The interim government of Bangladesh, meanwhile, has formally requested India to extradite Hasina, sending a diplomatic note to the Ministry of External Affairs, though no response has been received. Additionally, the International Crimes Tribunal for Bangladesh has issued two arrest warrants over allegations of enforced disappearances under her 15-year rule.