Bangladesh on Monday formally asked India to extradite former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, hours after a Dhaka tribunal handed her a death sentence on crimes against humanity linked to last year’s deadly crackdown on student protesters. The government said the request was an “obligatory responsibility” for New Delhi, warning that offering refuge to the former leader would be “extremely unfriendly” and undermine Bangladesh extradition efforts. Hasina, whose 15-year rule was marked by widespread human rights violations, fled to India following her ouster in the mass uprising of August 2024 and has remained in hiding since.
The tribunal also sentenced former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in absentia. Dhaka believes he is likewise in India. Prosecutors told the court the two had overseen and directly commanded lethal force against student demonstrators between July and August 2024—violence that, according to a United Nations report, left up to 1,400 people dead and thousands more injured, most by gunfire.
India’s foreign ministry acknowledged the verdict but avoided addressing the extradition demand, instead saying New Delhi remained committed to Bangladesh’s “peace, democracy, inclusion and stability.” The diplomatic ambiguity comes amid already strained ties, with Hasina long criticized for running an autocratic government that New Delhi quietly supported.
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Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, welcomed the judgment, calling it a “historic verdict,” while urging the public to remain calm. Security was tightened across major cities, with paramilitary units guarding key buildings and the tribunal complex amid a wave of unrest marked by crude bomb blasts and arson attacks on vehicles. No casualties have been reported.
Hasina, 78, has rejected the charges as a politically driven attempt to eliminate her influence under the interim administration. In an email interview with Reuters last month, she denounced the proceedings as a “charade” by what she described as an unelected government containing her political rivals. She claimed she was denied reasonable notice of court hearings and had no genuine opportunity to defend herself, saying the guilty verdict was “foregone.”
Her state-appointed defence lawyer argued in court that the allegations lacked substance and urged her acquittal. Hasina maintains she had no direct role in the deadly crackdown and insists the charges are manufactured to sideline the Awami League ahead of elections expected in February. She also warned that widespread anger among party supporters could lead to boycotts and further destabilization.
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Despite relative calm since her ouster, Bangladesh’s political environment remains fragile, with authorities preparing for potential unrest following the explosive verdict. For now, the future of Hasina—and of the extradition push—hinges on how India responds as Dhaka intensifies its diplomatic pressure.
