As U.K. hesitates on asylum request, Sheikh Hasina considers “family options” in Finland and U.S.

Ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's asylum request faces uncertainty, exploring options in UK, US, Finland, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Twenty-four hours after ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka and landed at Delhi’s Hindon base, it is still unclear where her final destination will be, as sources confirmed that the United Kingdom is “unlikely” to accept her request for asylum. Meanwhile, it is understood that Ms. Hasina, who had to leave Bangladesh at very short notice is also studying her options with other countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, including those where her immediate family resides: US, Finland and India.

According to officials, Ms. Hasina, who is travelling with her sister Sheikh Rehana Siddiq, is at a “safe house” pending a final decision.

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In the interim, UK government officials pointed to Immigration law under which “there is no provision” for those outside the UK to claim asylum or temporary refuge. “Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach (in this case, India)- that is the fastest route to safety.” Officials declined to comment on whether Ms. Hasina has also applied for a regular visa to The UK.

The former Bangladesh PM had formally requested for permission to travel to the United Kingdom shortly after landing in Delhi, in the hope that she could fly directly on board the Bangladesh Airforce plane that brought her to Delhi, on to London. Sheikh Rehana holds a UK passport under Bangladesh’s dual citizenship laws, and her daughter Tulip Siddiq is the sitting Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Highgate (North London), and is the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister. 

However, those hopes were dimmed a few hours later when U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy issued a statement on the situation in Bangladesh which made no mention of Ms. Hasina or her request. In addition, he said that the “people of Bangladesh deserve a full and independent UN-led investigation into the events of the past few weeks”, indicating that the Starmer government could even push for international an enquiry into Ms. Hasina’s actions, despite Ms. Siddiq’s position.  According to officials who could not be named, the UK government is worried about pressure from the rival BNP party loyalists who are influential there, as well as concerns that Ms. Hasina could be accused of Human Rights violations. In the past however, UK has allowed a slew of Pakistani leaders in exile, including Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto as well as the BNP’s Tariq Rehman to live there.

In Europe, Ms. Hasina’s next option would be to travel to Helsinki where Ms. Rehana’s son Radwan Mujib Siddiq “Bobby” lives, and married a Finnish national. Mr. Siddiq was a “youth activist” in Bangladesh who edited a magazine, heading the Centre for Research & Information (CRI) and Young Bangla NGOs, and was frequently involved in government campaigns there. On a much-criticised trip to the UNGA in New York in 2021 during the Covid pandemic, Ms. Hasina had made a stopover in Helsinki, ostensibly to spend time with her nephew there. The Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s office did not respond to a request for comment on a possible request from Ms. Hasina however.