Dhaka/New Delhi: Days after the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, the interim government of Bangladesh has formally requested her extradition from India.
According to the Dhaka Tribune, a new diplomatic note was sent to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs shortly after High Representative for the Rohingya Issue Khalilur Rahman returned from a visit to New Delhi. Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain confirmed on Sunday that Bangladesh had communicated with India regarding Hasina’s return but did not provide further details.
A diplomatic source in New Delhi told United News of Bangladesh that the note verbale was dispatched soon after the 7th National Security Advisers’ meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave, which Khalilur Rahman attended.
The ICT had earlier sentenced Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death over crimes against humanity linked to unrest in July-August last year. Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, a state witness, received a five-year prison term.
Following the verdict, Dhaka urged India to hand over both convicted individuals immediately. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that India is obliged to act under the existing extradition treaty. It added that providing shelter to those convicted of crimes against humanity would be “a grave act of unfriendly conduct and a travesty of justice.”
