Bangladesh on Monday urged India to immediately hand over its former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was earlier in the day sentenced to death by a tribunal that found her guilty of crimes against humanity.
Dhaka also demanded the extradition of the country’s former interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, to Bangladesh, India Today reported.
The tribunal on Monday sentenced the former interior minister as well to death. Both Hasina and Kamal were tried in absentia, and are believed to be in India.
The Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that handing over Hasina and Kamal was a “mandatory duty” for India under the existing extradition treaty.
The acting head of Bangladesh’s law ministry, Asif Nazrul, was quoted by Al-Jazeera as saying: “If India continues to give refuge to someone responsible for mass killings, it must understand the hostility this creates towards Bangladesh and its people.”
Earlier on Monday, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal held Hasina guilty of having ordered a deadly crackdown on the protests against her government in 2024.
The verdict was the first in a series of four cases related to crimes allegedly committed during her government’s response to the several weeks of widespread student-led protests against the Awami League government in July and August 2024.
The tribunal said that the attacks during last year’s protests were “directed against the civilian population” and were “widespread and systematic”.
In February, a United Nations report on the violence said that the Hasina government, the country’s security and intelligence services and “violent elements” associated with her Awami League party had engaged in serious human rights violations to quell the protests in 2024.
Of the 1,400 killed and thousands injured between July 1, 2024, and August 15, 2024, the vast majority were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces, the UN report said. Of these, 12% to 13% killed were children.
Hasina, however, on Monday described the tribunal as biased and politically motivated, and denied having ordered firing on protesters. She said that the verdict was passed by a “rigged tribunal” that had been established and presided over by an “unelected government with no democratic mandate”.
The former prime minister added that she was not given a fair chance to defend herself in court nor have her lawyers represent her in absentia.
She further contended that the “UN’s much-quoted fatality estimate of 1,400 deaths is also disputed”, adding that the Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health recorded a verified count of 834 deaths.
Committed to Bangladeshi people’s best interests: India
India, in its official reaction to the development, did not comment on the extradition demand, but said that it has taken note of the tribunal’s verdict against Hasina.
“As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country,” the external affairs ministry said. “We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end.”
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