New Delhi/Dhaka: Bangladesh has asked India to extradite former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal after both were sentenced to death for their alleged role in the crackdown against a student uprising in 2024.
“In today’s verdict, the International Crimes Tribunal has convicted and sentenced fugitives Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal for the July massacre,” the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said in an official statement.
“It would be a grave act of unfriendly behaviour and a travesty of justice for any other country to grant asylum to these individuals convicted of crimes against humanity. We call on the Indian government to immediately hand over these two convicted individuals to the Bangladeshi authorities. This is also an obligation for India under the existing extradition treaty between the two countries,” it further stated.
An Extradition Treaty between India and Bangladesh was signed on 28 January 2013 during the visit of the then Union minister of home affairs to Bangladesh. The Extradition Treaty was signed to promote cooperation between law enforcement agencies of the two countries and help to curb criminal activities.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that “India has noted the verdict announced by the “International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh” concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”
“As a close neighbour, India remains commited to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” the MEA noted.
On Monday, a special tribunal sentenced Hasina to death on charges of crimes against humanity for her crackdown on a student uprising last year that killed hundreds of people and led to the toppling of her 15-year rule.
The Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) also sentenced Khan to death for his involvement in the use of deadly force against protesters.
Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, after a mob moved towards her official residence in Dhaka. She has been in India since.
The former Bangladesh prime minister reacted sharply to Monday’s verdict. The verdict revealed “the brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures in an unelected government”, she said.
She also denied all charges and criticised the court for not giving her Awami League Party and herself a “fair chance to defend themselves”. She also accused the tribunal and its members of bias, pointing out its judges and lawyers had “publicly expressed sympathy for the current administration”.
“For the record, I wholly deny the accusations that have been made against me in the ICT. I mourn all of the deaths that occurred in July and August of last year, on both sides of the political divide. But neither I nor other political leaders ordered the killing of protesters,” Sheikh Hasina said.
“… I was given no fair chance to defend myself in court, nor even to have lawyers of my own choice represent me in absentia. Despite its name, there is nothing ‘international’ about the ICT… Nor is it impartial,” she said in a statement issued minutes after the verdict, tearing into “rigged” proceedings.
Hasina had earlier said that that she was not afraid to face her “accusers” in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly.
“That is why I have repeatedly challenged the interim government to bring these charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.”
The ICT, originally set up to try hardened collaborators of Pakistani forces during the 1971 Liberation War, was amended by the interim government under Muhammad Yunus to bring leaders of the past regime, including Hasina, under its jurisdiction.
