'Yunus Govt's Rule By Terror': Sheikh Hasina Condemns Attacks On Minorities In Bangladesh

Last Updated:January 12, 2026, 21:02 IST

Citing the killing of Hindu garment worker Dipu Chandra Das, ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina said the crime underscores how minorities are in "grave danger" in Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in Bangladesh following a student uprising beginning July 2024, and went into exile in India as she fled from her country on August 5. (Image: AFP/File)

Ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina came down heavily on the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, saying its “rule by terror" has resulted in “fear, displacement, and the erosion" of the country’s secular fabric.

Citing the killing of Hindu garment worker Dipu Chandra Das, Hasina said the “horrific and shameful crime" underscores how minorities are in “grave danger" in Bangladesh.

“What we are witnessing is the systematic dismantling of Bangladesh’s secular and democratic identity. Jamaat-e-Islami and allied extremist groups have been given political space, protection, and impunity under the Yunus regime," Hasina told News18 in an interview.

She said under her government, the protection of minorities was not optional but a constitutional obligation and a moral duty. Comparing the freedom of expression when she was in power, she slammed the Yunus regime for suppressing dissent by arresting journalists on “baseless charges".

“During our 15 years in government, we welcomed and encouraged freedom of expression and criticism. Journalists were free to write without fear of retaliation or violence. Today, journalists are being arrested on baseless charges for daring to write about the realities of life under Yunus," she said.

Excerpts from the interview:

There are fresh concerns about the safety of minority communities after the brutal killing of Dipu Chandra Das. How do you respond to the alleged targeting of Hindus and violence against minorities in Bangladesh since your ouster in August 2024?

The killing of Dipu Chandra Das was a horrific and shameful crime, and it underscores the grave danger facing minority communities in Bangladesh today. Since August 2024, we have witnessed a sustained cycle of violence against Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Ahmadi Muslims, and indigenous communities; violence that has been allowed to spread unchecked through denial, inaction, and total impunity.

This did not begin spontaneously; it is symptomatic of the Muhammad Yunus-led government’s rule by terror. Any government that elevates extremists into positions of power and grants the perpetrators immunity in the eyes of the law, while exclusively prosecuting its political rivals, has voluntarily made minorities easy targets.

Under my government, the protection of minorities was not optional; it was a constitutional obligation and a moral duty. Today, that duty has been abandoned. The result is fear, displacement, and the erosion of Bangladesh’s secular foundations.

What is your response to the killing of Osman Hadi, which was pinned on the Awami League and linked to India? Authorities have now admitted they had no evidence.

The killing of Osman Hadi was a tragic and awful event that deserved a proper, impartial response from the government. Instead, his death was immediately politicised and led to a wave of unforgivable violence directed at our country’s media. His death is the direct consequence of the lawlessness, electoral violence and repression of free speech that has been allowed to define Bangladesh’s politics under Yunus.

During our 15 years in government, we welcomed and encouraged freedom of expression and criticism. Journalists were free to write without fear of retaliation or violence. Today, journalists are being arrested on baseless charges for daring to write about the realities of life under Yunus.

What is most concerning is that, without evidence, blame was directed at the Awami League and baselessly linked to India. The subsequent admission by the authorities that they have no evidence confirms what was clear from the outset: this was scapegoating, not justice.

The Awami League has repeatedly been used as a convenient target to deflect attention from the interim government’s collapse of law and order. When facts are replaced with accusations, and impartial investigations are replaced with propaganda, the rule of law ceases to exist.

From attacks on media houses, diplomatic missions, minorities, and cultural symbols of Bangladesh, what is your assessment of the Yunus regime’s involvement with Jamaati forces so as to unravel the secular fabric of Bangladesh?

What we are witnessing is the systematic dismantling of Bangladesh’s secular and democratic identity. Jamaat-e-Islami and allied extremist groups have been given political space, protection, and impunity under the Yunus regime.

Attacks on media institutions, intimidation of journalists, assaults on minorities, and the destruction of cultural symbols are not isolated incidents, they are symptoms of rule by terror. Our independence battle was predicated on a rejection of religious extremism and authoritarianism. Allowing the Jamaat to dominate public life is not reform; it is historical reversal.

How do you respond to those who blame your engagement with groups like Hefazat-e-Islam for the July uprising and your ouster?

This narrative is a distortion of facts. During my time in office, engagement with religious groups was undertaken to preserve stability, uphold the constitution, and prevent violence, not to legitimise extremism. Indeed, we worked tirelessly to curb domestic terrorist groups and ensure that our society was a place where religious pluralism could flourish.

The uprising was not a spontaneous religious movement. It was a meticulously planned campaign of destruction and violence that capitalised on a legitimate student protest. This was later admitted by Yunus himself.

In July 2024, my government established a judicial inquiry to understand the causes of the tragic loss of life in the violence of that summer. This was immediately dissolved by Yunus on taking office, no doubt because he knew it would incriminate him. Retrospectively blaming our democratically elected government for an extremist takeover absolves those who orchestrated violence and benefitted from the subsequent chaos.

Yunus accused you and your supporters of inciting violence and spending millions to disrupt the electoral process in a call with a US envoy. How do you respond to that, and has the US done enough to condemn the violence in Bangladesh?

These allegations are entirely unfounded. The Awami League has consistently called for calm, accountability, and democratic resolution through elections. It is deeply ironic for an unelected administration that has banned opposition parties, detained hundreds of thousands of citizens, and tolerated mob violence to accuse others of incitement.

The United States has been cautious in its statements. Yunus was once the darling of some western political elites, but they are increasingly seeing him for the fraud he is. Even the President has said as much.

Statements of concern are important, but they must be matched by clear condemnation of arbitrary detention, attacks on minorities and journalists, and the exclusion of major political parties from elections. Democracy cannot be selectively defended.

For Bangladesh, the only viable path forward lies in free, fair, and inclusive elections. Is that possible when Yunus appears to lack legitimacy or resolve?

Yunus has never had any democratic legitimacy. Not a single Bangladeshi has cast a vote for him. Instead, he has repeatedly delayed elections, disenfranchised tens of millions of ordinary people, and attempted to tear up our constitution in favour of his own illegitimate charter.

You cannot organise credible elections while banning the country’s largest political party, organising a show trial of its leadership and arbitrarily detaining its supporters on entirely fabricated charges. Today, over 1,52,000 people remain in custody, including over 120 members of Parliament. They endure brutal conditions, insufficient food and space and are routinely denied medical treatment.

These intolerable conditions are accompanied by brutal acts of physical and psychological torture that have resulted in over 100 deaths. Between December 20 and 24, 2025, alone, nearly 9,000 people were detained without any case, charge or arrest warrant.

Their only ‘crime’ has been to support the Awami League or to dare criticise the interim government. This is not law enforcement; it is mass repression.

I believe the possibility of democratic restoration still exists, but it will require sustained international engagement, the lifting of political bans, the release of political detainees, and robust election monitoring. Without these conditions, these will be elections in name only and make a mockery of democracy.

Tarique Rahman has returned from 18 years of exile. What are your hopes from his return and the BNP?

Tarique Rahman’s return reminds us all of the corruption, violence, and extremism that characterised the BNP’s rule. Let us not forget that Tarique Rahman has lived in exile in London for years, far removed from the daily realities faced by ordinary citizens. He fled Bangladesh after being found guilty of abetting his late mother, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, in the embezzlement of public funds.

Bangladesh does not need politics driven by vengeance, exclusion, or corruption. It needs leadership rooted in the country, accountable to its people, and committed to pluralism. Whether the BNP chooses that path remains to be seen. Already, we are seeing BNP activists intimidate Awami League voters on their doorstep, forcing them to vote for their party or face violence and destruction.

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