 "Bangladesh formally asks India to extradite Sheikh Hasina after tribunal issues death sentence")
Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has formally asked New Delhi to extradite former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, after the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) sentenced her to death.
An “official letter” was dispatched to India on Friday, state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported, quoting foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain, who did not provide further details.
On November 17, the tribunal handed the 78-year-old leader the death penalty in absentia, alongside former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, after finding them guilty of “crimes against humanity”. Both are currently in India.
A third accused, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, appeared in person and received a five-year prison sentence after serving as an approver in the case.
Hasina’s Awami League government was ousted on August 5 last year during a student-led uprising widely referred to as the “July Uprising.”
Three days later, Nobel Laureate Yunus flew from Paris at the call of the protesting students to assume the charge of the interim government as its chief adviser.
Hasina and the two others were accused of adopting brutal means to tame the protestors while a UN rights office report said about 1,400 people were killed in between July 15 and August 15 last year.
The interim government had in December last year sent a diplomatic note verbal seeking Hasina’s extradition when India just acknowledged its receipt with no further comment.
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View AllHowever, hours after the ICT-BD verdict was delivered last week, the External Affairs Ministry issued a statement saying “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 committed 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 statement read.
Law adviser Asif Nazrul on November 20 said the interim government would send a letter to Delhi to return Hasina and her home minister adding that the government was also thinking about going to the International Criminal Court to bring them back as they were now “fugitive convicts”.
“We will hold a meeting soon to decide whether we can approach the International Criminal Court regarding the return of these convicted individuals,” Nazrul told reporters.
Three days later, he reiterated the plan saying “we are going to issue a letter requesting the extradition of Hasina and Kamal and added “we believe India has an added responsibility to return them”.
With inputs from agencies
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