Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was expected to speak via videolink on August 5, 2026, at an event hosted by the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) of South Asia, marking her first media appearance from Indian soil nearly two years after she was removed from power Al Jazeera. The 78-year-old was slated to appear alongside her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and other Awami League figures, including former Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel Al Jazeera.

The event lands at a sensitive moment in the relationship between India and Bangladesh. Hasina has been living in India's capital, New Delhi, since student-led protests forced her from power in August 2024. A temporary government took over after she left, and elections were held earlier in 2026. Bangladesh wants India to send Hasina back to face trial, a process called extradition, following a death sentence handed down in 2025 by a court in Dhaka called the International Crimes Tribunal-I, in the case The Chief Prosecutor vs. Sheikh Hasina & Others, for her role in ordering forces to fire on protesters during the July 2024 crackdown Al Jazeera. An estimated 1,400 people were killed and more than 20,000 injured in that crackdown. Bangladesh's interim government called for the death penalty in relation to the crackdown and for 1,500 cases of enforced disappearances during Hasina's 17-year rule, according to an official inquiry Al Jazeera. Hasina dismissed the verdict as "legally void."

India has denied any role in planning the virtual speech, saying the event was organised by a private media organisation Al Jazeera. On August 4, Bangladeshi authorities banned local media from airing Hasina's speech Al Jazeera. Hasina's aide Abu Obaidha Arin criticised the ban, saying Dhaka's efforts to silence dissent cannot extinguish voices beyond the country's borders Al Jazeera.

The broadcast ban follows a precedent. In January, Hasina made an audio address played to a packed FCC in New Delhi, in which she accused Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh's then-interim government, of being a "murderous fascist" and said Bangladesh would never experience free and fair elections under him. More than 100,000 people listened to the address, which was broadcast online. Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was "surprised and shocked" that Hasina had been allowed to make the speech from Indian territory Al Jazeera.

The FCC appearance is one part of a broader effort by Hasina and her party, the Awami League, to stay politically relevant. In July, Hasina told Reuters she and senior party colleagues plan to return to Bangladesh from exile around December 2026 Reuters. An Awami League article published on July 13, 2026 quoted Hasina saying: "They may arrest me... they may even kill me. Still, I have to go" Awami League. A Bangladesh minister said Hasina will be jailed if she returns from self-imposed exile Reuters. The Awami League has also published an article titled "Why Is the Return of Sheikh Hasina Inevitable?" arguing that Bangladesh is safest under her leadership Awami League. Another party article referenced what it described as "a troubling display of state power" on June 23, 2026 Awami League.

The broader context here is a relationship between two neighboring countries under stress. Hasina's continued presence in India, and her apparent determination to re-enter Bangladeshi politics from there, creates a problem for both sides. Each time she speaks publicly from India, Bangladesh can argue that India is giving a platform to someone convicted of serious crimes, even though India says these events are privately organised. If Hasina follows through on her December return plan, it would directly test whether India will hand her over and whether the death sentence will be carried out, putting enormous pressure on the legal and diplomatic systems of both countries. For the Awami League, the FCC event shows that the party is still active and organised. For the Bangladeshi government, it is an unwelcome reminder that the former prime minister still has a voice and a network that can reach people inside Bangladesh despite the broadcast ban.

What is still unclear is whether Hasina's December timeline is a real plan or a political strategy to keep the Awami League in the news and its supporters energized. The gap between announcing a return and actually doing it is large, especially when returning would almost certainly mean arrest. Both interpretations are plausible. The FCC speech, the party's published writings, and Hasina's own statements all point toward rising rhetoric well ahead of any actual return.