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This exiled leader faces execution threat if she returns home. She wants to go anyway

By CNN

(AP) — Ousted former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Wednesday that she plans to return to her country from exile in India in December despite facing a death sentence in Bangladesh over a bloody crackdown on protesters in 2024.

In an audio address to an event in New Delhi marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled her government, Hasina said it was her duty to her people to return voluntarily despite her conviction in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity.

Hasina fled to India in 2024 after student-led protests forced her from power, and she has remained in exile there ever since.

In 2025, a Bangladeshi court sentenced her to death on charges of crimes against humanity for ordering a crackdown on the uprising. The United Nations in a report said nearly 1,400 people were killed in the crackdown. Hasina denies any wrongdoing.

Bangladesh has repeatedly sought Hasina’s extradition, but India has so far declined to hand her over.

“I know that they may put me in jail, or they may kill me, or anything may happen, but still I have to go back,” Hasina said during her address. “Fear cannot decide my duty to the people.”

She also called for the ban on her Awami League party to be lifted and for political prisoners to be released.

Also on Wednesday, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated a memorial museum dedicated to the 2024 uprising. The July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum is housed in Hasina’s former official residence in the capital, Dhaka.

The project was launched by the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, who took office on Aug. 8, 2024, three days after Hasina’s ouster. Yunus joined Rahman at the museum’s inauguration.

The museum features audio and video exhibits on the uprising, as well as personal belongings of those killed and newspaper clippings from the time. It also documents alleged political repression during Hasina’s 15 years in power.

Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Hasina’s archrival, came to power with a landslide victory in February under a vote overseen by Yunus’ interim administration. Hasina’s Awami League was barred from participating.

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Woman told House panel that Gomez sexually assaulted her, attorneys say

Washington — A woman told the House Ethics Committee that Rep. Jimmy Gomez sexually assaulted her, according to her attorneys, a claim that comes as the panel investigates sexual misconduct allegations against the California Democrat.The bipartisan committee said Monday that it's looking into allegations against Gomez, including that he engaged "in inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer." Gomez acknowledged in a statement Monday that he "made personal mistakes outside my marriage" and that his "actions were consensual in nature." The attorneys for the unnamed woman pushed back on the assertion that Gomez's actions were consensual. "We represent one of the women who was interviewed by the House Committee on Ethics about her experience of sexual harassment and assault by Representative Jimmy Gomez. Contrary to Representative Gomez's assertion in his statement, his actions were not 'consensual in nature' with respect to our client. We fully expect that the House Committee on Ethics will come to the same conclusion in its investigation," said her attorneys, Lisa J. Banks and Sarah E. Nesbitt. CBS News has reached out to Gomez's office for comment on the allegations. Banks and Nesbitt did not identify their client, and CBS News has not verified her claims.In his statement earlier this week, Gomez said he was "ready to cooperate with the Ethics Committee inquiry and provide it with whatever information it might need." "Out of respect for my family and the ongoing process, I will have no further comment," he added. House Democratic leaders called the allegations "serious and disturbing." "We encourage the Committee to conduct a thorough and swift investigation," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement Wednesday. The leaders of the Democratic Women's Caucus also urged the Ethics Committee to move quickly and release the status of its investigation before the 60-day blackout period ahead of Election Day. The group said the allegations, if substantiated, must be met with "clear and meaningful consequences." In announcing the probe on Monday, the Ethics Committee said that "[n]o other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules."The investigation comes as the House is poised to consider legislation to overhaul the chamber's ethics rules. The proposal would, among other things, ban lawmakers from having sexual relationships with any congressional staffers, not just those under their direct supervision.
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