New Delhi: Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has accused individuals of plotting to assassinate her and her sister, Rehana, following her resignation amid student-led protests on August 5 of the previous year. These claims were made in an audio message shared on her Facebook page by the Bangladesh Awami League party late Friday.
“Rehana and I narrowly escaped death, just 20 to 25 minutes apart,” Hasina stated, asserting that the alleged assassination attempt was not the first in her life. She indicated that there have been multiple “conspiracies” aimed at her elimination throughout her existence.
“I believe that surviving the attacks on August 21, evading the significant bombing in Kotalipara, and enduring the events of August 5, 2024, signifies a divine will. Otherwise, I would not have survived this ordeal. You have witnessed their plans to take my life,” Hasina remarked.
“Nonetheless, it appears to be an act of divine mercy that I remain alive, as Allah has a purpose for me,” she continued.
‘I am without my country’
Hasina was compelled to leave Bangladesh and seek refuge in India as the student-led protests, allegedly supported by the opposition, engulfed the capital, Dhaka. The unrest resulted in over 600 fatalities and numerous injuries, as demonstrators insisted on her resignation.
In a poignant reflection on her exile from an undisclosed location in India, Hasina expressed, “Though I endure suffering, I am separated from my homeland, my home, everything has been destroyed.”
Hasina’s legal troubles
On January 6, a Bangladeshi court issued a second arrest warrant for the 77-year-old Hasina concerning her alleged involvement in enforced disappearances, according to the chief prosecutor.
She is already facing an arrest warrant for purported “crimes against humanity” during her lengthy 15-year tenure as prime minister.
