‘Students emotionally manipulated’: Sheikh Hasina on ‘truth’ behind protests that led to her ouster
Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has claimed that “organised groups” hijacked the 2024 student protests and turned the movement into “instruments of violent political agitation.” Revealing her version of the “truth” Hasina said that the August protests were used “create a path to power outside ballot box.“Addressing her first public event since the fall of her Awami League government, Hasina said, “I speak not only as someone who served five terms as Prime Minister, but also as the daughter of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”She said her government had sought to resolve the protests through dialogue from the outset. “From the very beginning, my government sought to resolve the protests peacefully through dialogue. However, organised groups worked to turn the students’ demands into instruments of violent political agitation. Jaded students were emotionally manipulated,” she said.“Muhammad Yunus himself said this was a meticulously designed movement, led by a mastermind. His own words expose the truth. It was not simply a spontaneous student protest. There was no visible or responsible leadership, instructions were given invisibly; it was organised, directed and used to create a path to power outside ballot box,” she further added.Speaking at the gathering earlier, Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed said Bangladesh had become “another Pakistan on India’s eastern front” and alleged that foreign intelligence agencies, particularly Pakistan’s ISI, were operating freely in the country. Ahead of Hasina’s virtual address in New Delhi, Wazed also questioned the reported death toll from the July-August 2024 student-led protests, asking why the United Nations’ estimate of around 1,400 deaths differed from the previous interim government’s figure of more than 800.He claimed repeated requests by the Awami League and its lawyers for the UN to provide the names of those counted had gone unanswered. Wazed further alleged that the former interim government led by Muhammad Yunus granted blanket legal immunity to protesters accused of killings and said thousands of Awami League members had been jailed without trial or due process. He also claimed several detainees had died in custody.Hasina has been living in India since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024. She was later sentenced to death in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide linked to the 2024 crackdown, while her Awami League party was banned. Dhaka has repeatedly sought her extradition. Three days after her departure, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took over as chief adviser to the interim government.
