New Delhi: India on Wednesday (November 26) acknowledged that it had received a request from Dhaka seeking the extradition of former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina after she was sentenced to death for “crimes against humanity,” but said it had not yet taken a decision, adding that the matter was under review and that New Delhi remained focused on Bangladesh’s best interests, the Wire reported.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the request was being studied under established judicial and internal legal procedures, with spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal indicating at a weekly briefing that the government was examining the petition submitted by Bangladesh’s interim administration late last week.
He continued: “We remain committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country, and will continue to engage constructively in this regard with all stakeholders.”
Bangladesh’s interim foreign minister Touhid Hossain said on Wednesday that Dhaka anticipated a response from India in due course, stating that the circumstances had changed following Sheikh Hasina’s conviction. He indicated that while an immediate reply was unlikely, Bangladesh expected to hear back eventually.
Referring to an earlier extradition request sent in December that has not yet received a reply, Hossain suggested that the latest appeal stood on firmer ground because the legal process had now been completed and a verdict delivered.
He added that the request had been made under the 2013 extradition treaty between the two countries and had been formally conveyed to India’s Ministry of External Affairs through a diplomatic note from Bangladesh’s High Commission in New Delhi.
Earlier this month, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death for what it described as crimes against humanity linked to the violent suppression of anti-government protests in July and August last year, which eventually led her to flee to India, where she is still staying. The court also handed down a death sentence to her former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
Hasina has rejected the ruling, maintaining that the tribunal was biased and politically influenced. Media reports said she was sentenced to death for allegedly ordering the use of lethal force against demonstrators and to life imprisonment on other charges, including incitement and blocking investigations into abuses during the crackdown.
International human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also raised concerns about the case, including the fact that she was tried in absentia, and have questioned the fairness of the proceedings.