Ex-PM Hasina seeks new passport to return to Bangladesh and surrender to court

NEW DELHI: Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requested on Monday a new passport and identity card so she can return from self-imposed exile in India, according to a letter seen by Reuters, her first such communication since fleeing in 2024.

The request marks the clearest step by Hasina to act on her plan to return to Bangladesh in December, more than two years after a deadly uprising ended her long rule, raising the prospect of fresh political and legal tensions in a country where her party is now banned.

She has told Reuters she plans to return to surrender before a court, and her aides said on Monday the date would be announced once various formalities were completed. Bangladesh's war-crimes court sentenced her to death in November last year in her absence for ordering a deadly crackdown on the student-led uprising, though she has denied the charges from exile.

"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.

The letter 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."

Rahman in Delhi and spokespeople for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hasina's Awami League party was the country's largest before it was banned following her fall. Many of her party colleagues have either been jailed or are in self-imposed exile in India or elsewhere.

Having ruled Bangladesh for 20 years as prime minister across multiple terms, Hasina still enjoys support among sections of the population, and a return could sharpen political divisions as the government in Dhaka seeks to restore stability after more than two years of upheaval.

On the other hand, it could improve Bangladesh's strained ties with India, which deteriorated sharply after New Delhi gave her refuge.--REUTERS