The Bangladesh ministry cited an extradition agreement with India and said it was an “obligatory responsibility” for the country to hand over Hasina. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry in a statement sought the handing over of former Prime Minister and “fugitive accused” Sheikh Hasina from India, after a tribunal’s death sentence to the Awami League leader. In a letter, the Bangladesh ministry cited an extradition agreement with India and said it was an “obligatory responsibility” for New Delhi to ensure Hasina’s return to Bangladesh. “Providing refuge to these individuals, who have been convicted of crimes against humanity, by any other country would be a highly unfriendly act and a disregard for justice,” the letter from the foreign ministry of Bangladesh read. The ministry was referring to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) observations from earlier today, finding Hasina and former and former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal guilty on multiple counts over a crackdown on students in Bangladesh last year.
Apart from Hasina and Khan, former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was also found guilty of committing “crimes against humanity”. Former PM Sheikh Hasina was ousted from Bangladesh following a mass uprising by students against the erstwhile government. Massive protests rocked the country in July last year, which eventually brought down her government and led to her ouster in August. Ever since, Hasina has been in self-exile in India. According to her son Sajeeb Wazed, Hasina is at a secret safe house in Delhi, where India is providing her full security. “I must add that I am deeply grateful to the Indian people for providing me with a safe haven this past year,” Hasina earlier wrote in emailed response.
The 78-year-old leader had even defied orders from the Bangladesh court, which had ordered her return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year that eventually ousted her. Reacting to the death sentence handed to her, Sheikh Hasina denied the accusations made against her in the court and said that the order was made by a “rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate”.
“They are biased and politically motivated. In their distasteful call for the death penalty, they reveal the brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government to remove Bangladesh’s last elected prime minister, and to nullify the Awami League as a political force,” some of her remarks from a lengthy strongly-worded statement read. Sheikh Hasina was found guilty on three counts – incitement, ordering killings, and failing to prevent atrocities during the crackdown on students in July last year. The tribunal’s ruling came months before Bangladesh is expected to hold its first election since Hasina’s ouster in February 2026.
