Bangladesh today urged India to extradite the former prime minister Sheikh Hasinawho is exiled in the country and who was this Monday sentenced to death for ordering violent repression of protests that led to his deposition.
Hasina, whose regime was supported by New Delhi, fled to India by helicopter on August 5th, when protesters invaded his residence after weeks of demonstrations.
The exile of 78-year-old Sheikh Hasina reignited tensions between the two neighboring countries.
After a five-month trial, judges at a court in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, found the former ruler guilty of crimes against humanity, including incitement to murder and ordering deaths, according to the sentence handed down today.
Or court also sentenced former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death, who is also on the run.
The whereabouts of the former minister are unknown, but the Bangladesh claims that it is also found in India.
“We urge the Indian Government to immediately extradite the two convicts to the Bangladeshi authorities”the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka said in a statement.
For Bangladesh, “granting asylum to these convicts would be extremely hostile and an offense against justice”.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs responded also through a statement, stressing that “India has taken note of the verdict” against Hasina.
“As a neighbor, India remains committed to the interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability,” highlighted the Ministry, without referring to the issue of possible extradition.
From her exile in India, Hasina, who has always denied the accusations made against her, argued that the trial was “politically motivated”, ordered by “an illegal court, appointed and presided over by an unelected Government without a democratic mandate”.
“A guilty verdict is already predetermined, unfortunately,” Hasina said, arguing that “this is clearly a politically motivated process.”
As recordings presented by the prosecutor’s office, suggesting that the former ruler would have authorized the use of “lethal weapons” against protesters, were “taken out of context”, said the former prime minister.
The leader of the interim government of Bangladesh, led by the Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, welcomed the “historic verdict” and warned against any “act of indiscipline” or “action that may violate the law.”
In July and August 2024, the anti-government protests that forced Sheikh Hasina to flee the country, after 15 years in power, left at least 1400 dead, according to the United Nations, most civilians.
Bangladesh is facing intense political tension and has parliamentary elections scheduled for three months from now.
A commission of inquiry recently estimated that the government of the former prime minister ordered the disappearance of more than 250 opposition members.
After winning the parliamentary elections in early 2024, considered fraudulentor Hasina Party, to Awami League, was banned by the current interim Government.
In opposition during Hasina’s government, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP, its acronym in English) is considered the favorite in the next elections.