By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - Former Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina will return to her country early next week, she said on Monday, dismissing as "false and fake" murder and corruption charges brought against her in Dhaka.

Police charged Hasina and more than 50 others with murder on April 11, in connection to the deaths of 10 people in Dhaka political violence last October.

"Of course, I'll go back. I'll go back to my people," she told Reuters by telephone in Washington, where she was visiting her son and his family.

"All are false and fake cases, I know," Hasina said. She said she would leave Washington for London on Wednesday and intended to depart for Dhaka at the weekend, depending on flights and meetings in Britain.

"They can do whatever they like, but I know my conscience is clear, I haven't done anything wrong, and I haven't committed any crimes," Hasina said.

She said she did not fear detention or physical harm.

"They filed cases and more cases maybe just to punish me," added the 60-year-old leader of the Awami League, one of her country's biggest political parties.

The daughter of Bangladesh independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina was prime minister of the impoverished South Asian country from 1996 to 2001.

The murder charges filed last week were mostly brought against members of the Awami League and several leaders of the rival Jamaat-e-Islami party.

Police said the murder charges were pressed after months of investigation into two separate cases filed by the rival groups involving the killing of 10 people in Dhaka on Oct. 28.

A 14-party alliance led by the Awami League accused Jamaat of starting the violence resulting in the deaths, while Jamaat, in a separate complaint to police, accused the Awamis.

A court will formally hear the charges on April 22.

Bangladesh is now being run by an army-backed interim government, headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed, charged with taking the country to free and fair polls.

It imposed a state of emergency on Jan. 11 amid widespread factional violence, scrapped an election set for Jan. 22 and arrested about 160 people for corruption and extortion, among them dozens of former ministers and political leaders.

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