Bangladesh’s interim government has formally requested India to hand over former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ex–home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, after the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICT-BD) sentenced both leaders to death, according to Reuters.
The tribunal found Hasina and Kamal guilty of crimes against humanity linked to last year’s student-led uprising. Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was also convicted, BBC reported.
The months-long trial concluded that Hasina had ordered a brutal crackdown on protesters, an incident that resulted in the deaths of up to 1,400 people, mostly due to security forces’ gunfire, based on UN estimates, Indian Express reported.
Hasina, who fled Bangladesh in August 2024 and has been living in exile in New Delhi, rejected the verdict as politically driven. In a statement cited by Reuters, she said the tribunal was “rigged” and formed by “an unelected government with no democratic mandate.” She further alleged she was denied a fair chance to defend herself. “I am not afraid to face my accusers in a proper tribunal where evidence can be weighed, tested fairly,” she said, as quoted by the Indian Express.
In another response carried by AP, Hasina added, “We lost control of the situation, but to characterise what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts,” reported the Indian Express.
Following the sentencing, Bangladesh’s home ministry issued a strong statement urging India to act under the existing extradition treaty. “We urge the Indian government to immediately hand over these two convicts to the Bangladeshi authorities. It is also a legal obligation for India as per the existing extradition treaty between the two countries,” the ministry said, Indian Express reported.
Meanwhile, Hasina’s party, the Awami League, has announced a nationwide shutdown on Tuesday to protest the tribunal’s verdict, calling it unjust and politically motivated.