 "Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in a 'crimes against humanity' case. File Photo/Reuters")
The International Council of Jurists (ICJ) announced plans to approach the United Nations Human Rights Committee, requesting urgent intervention to protect former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s right to life and a fair trial.
The move comes amid widespread international concern over a death sentence handed down to Hasina by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal.
According to an ANI report, in a strong statement, ICJ President Adish C Aggarwala condemned the tribunal’s verdict, describing the trial as “deeply flawed, opaque, and inconsistent with international human rights standards.”
The ICJ confirmed that it will shortly file an urgent appeal with the UN body to safeguard Hasina’s fundamental rights, added the report.
ICJ, headquartered in London with offices in New Delhi, is an independent global legal body dedicated to strengthening democratic institutions and promoting justice worldwide. The organisation is entirely separate from both the International Court of Justice and the International Commission of Jurists.
The ICJ stressed that, amid growing questions about fairness, transparency, and political neutrality, Sheikh Hasina has strong legal grounds to contest any potential extradition.
ICJ President Aggarwala pointed to multiple reports indicating that Hasina was denied adequate legal representation, given no meaningful opportunity to defend herself, and subjected to a process characterised by haste, secrecy, and serious procedural irregularities.
He warned that these flaws not only undermine the legitimacy of the tribunal’s verdict but also fuel perceptions of a politically motivated outcome.
“A death sentence must be rooted in transparent proceedings and clear evidence,” ANI quoted Aggarwala as saying in the statement.
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View All“But here, essential elements of justice were conspicuously absent. The entire process appears politically motivated and incompatible with Bangladesh’s obligations under international human rights law,” he added.
Aggarwala, former Vice-Chairman of the Bar Council of India and ex-President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, emphasised that the right to a fair trial is both a constitutional guarantee and a universal human right under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Bangladesh is a signatory.
Commenting on reports of Sheikh Hasina’s potential extradition from India, Aggarwala warned that international law bars extradition to countries where the accused faces an unfair trial or risks persecution, torture, or a death sentence imposed without due process.
“When a fundamentally flawed process results in a death sentence, extradition would expose the accused to irreversible injustice,” he said, noting that such a step would violate both Indian jurisprudence and international extradition norms.
Aggarwala stressed that India, as a country committed to rule of law and human rights, cannot legally or morally extradite Sheikh Hasina under the current circumstances.
He called on the international community to monitor developments in Bangladesh, warning that courts must not serve as tools of political retaliation and emphasising that due process, judicial independence, and constitutional protections are vital to democracy.
Highlighting the ICJ’s connections, he said that several former Chief Justices of Bangladesh —Justice Md. Ruhul Amin, Justice A.B.M. Khairul Haque, Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim, Justice Md. Muzammel Hossain, and Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha — have served as ICJ Vice Presidents.
Reiterating Hasina’s legal rights, Aggarwala said she could challenge any extradition under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and a fair trial.
He cited the Supreme Court’s consistent position, reaffirmed in Kishore Singh v. State of Rajasthan, that no one can be extradited if they face an unfair trial, political persecution, torture, or a death sentence without due process.
With inputs from agencies