Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday accused Muhammad Yunus, the head of the country’s interim government, of being a “murderous fascist” and called for a United Nations investigation into the unrest and political developments since she was ousted.

Hasina said that the UN should “conduct a new and truly impartial investigation into the events of the past year”. Only the “purification of truth” would allow Bangladesh to reconcile and move forward, she said.

The comments were made in an audio speech played at a press conference held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in Delhi. This is being viewed as one of her first major public addresses since losing power.

The former prime minister said that the Bangladeshi people must “restore democracy by removing the Yunus administration”. The country “will not experience free and fair polls” until the unelected Yunus government remains in power, she said.

The ousted prime minister alleged that Bangladesh had entered “an age of terror”, claiming that press freedom had been “extinguished”, religious minorities faced continued persecution, and law and order had collapsed.

She called on the Yunus government to put an end to the “daily acts of violence and lawlessness” to stabilise the country and “deliver an iron-clad guarantee” ensuring the safety of religious minorities, women and girls”.

Hasina also called on Dhaka to “stop intimidating” journalists, Opposition parties and members of her Awami League, and “restore trust in the judicial system”.

The former prime minister’s comments came ahead of the general elections scheduled for February 12, the first since she was ousted.

Hasina had resigned as the prime minister and fled to India in August 2024, after several weeks of widespread student-led protests against her Awami League government. She had been in power for 16 years.

After her ouster, Nobel laureate economist Yunus took over as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.

Hasina claimed on Friday that the unrest in 2024 had been “meticulously engineered by Yunus and his accomplices” to oust her. After the collapse of her government, the frenzy of militant extremism has caused fear across the nation, Hasina alleged.

The former prime minister claimed that there had been a “treacherous plot” to give away Bangladeshi territory and resources to foreign interests, alleging that “murderous fascists Yunus” had betrayed the nation.

“To overthrow the foreign-serving puppet regime of this national enemy, the great sons and daughters [of Bangladesh]…must reclaim our independence and democracy,” Hasina said in the audio message.

The Bangladeshi interim government has not commented on the allegations made by Hasina on Friday.

In May, the interim government banned all activities of the Awami League, including its online platforms, under the country’s anti-terrorism act.

Hasina had in October described the decision as unjust and warned that it could undermine the legitimacy of the vote. She also warned that millions of her supporters would boycott the polls unless her party is allowed to participate.

In November, the country’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death for crimes against humanity in connection with the deadly crackdown on the protesters in 2024.