Bangladesh has formally requested India to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, citing a binding extradition treaty after a Dhaka court sentenced her to death.
Key Takeaways
- Bangladesh officially requests India to extradite Sheikh Hasina under bilateral treaty.
- International Crimes Tribunal sentences Hasina to death for crimes against humanity.
- Hasina condemns verdict as politically motivated, defends her human rights record.
“Today’s verdict by the International Crimes Tribunal has found absconding convicts Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal guilty of the heinous crimes and sentenced them to death. Providing shelter to these convicts, who have been sentenced for crimes against humanity, will be considered an extremely unfriendly act and an affront to justice by any country,” the letter from the foreign ministry of Bangladesh read.
“We call upon the government of India to immediately deport and hand over these two individuals to the Bangladeshi authorities. The extradition treaty existing between the two countries makes this an essential and binding duty for India,” it added.
Death Sentence for Crimes Against Humanity
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Sheikh Hasina to death on Monday for crimes against humanity during the July-August 2024 unrest. The court found she ordered a crackdown on a student-led uprising and also ordered seizure of all her property.
Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal received the death penalty for his involvement, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun got a five-year prison term.
Hasina’s Strong Reaction
Sheikh Hasina condemned the death penalty as revealing the “murderous intent” of extremist figures within Bangladesh’s interim government, rejecting the verdict as politically motivated.
“The verdicts announced against me have been 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,” Hasina said in a statement.
“I reject the ICT’s other allegations of human rights abuses as equally unevidenced. I am very proud of my government’s record on human rights and development. We led Bangladesh to join the International Criminal Court in 2010, gave refuge to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar, expanded access to electricity and education, and presided over a 450% GDP growth over 15 years, lifting millions out of poverty. These achievements are a matter of historical record. They are not the acts of a leadership unconcerned by human rights. And Dr Yunus and his vengeful cronies can claim no achievements that are remotely comparable,” she added.
