Bangladesh on Monday called on India to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal after both were sentenced to death last year for their roles in the crackdown on a student uprising.
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According to an official statement from Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, “In today’s verdict, the International Criminal Tribunal convicted and sentenced refugees Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal for the July massacre.
“It would be a grave act of hostility and a travesty of justice for any other country to grant asylum to these individuals convicted of crimes against humanity. We call on the Indian government to immediately hand over these two convicts to the Bangladeshi authorities. This is also India’s obligation under the existing extradition treaty between the two countries,” the text reads.
Bilateral extradition treaty
The India-Bangladesh Extradition Treaty was signed on 28 January 2013 during the Home Minister’s visit to Bangladesh.
The extradition treaty was signed to promote cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries and help reduce criminal activity.
India reacts
The Ministry of External Affairs said: “India has taken note of the verdict announced by the ‘International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh’ against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”
As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in the country. To this end, we will always engage constructively with all stakeholders, the MEA noted.
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This comes after a special tribunal sentenced Hasina to death on charges of crimes against humanity for her suppression of a student uprising last year that killed hundreds and led to the overthrow of her 15-year government.
The Dhaka-based International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) also sentenced former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan to death for his involvement in the use of lethal force against protesters.
Police use stun grenades to disperse protesters gathered outside the demolished residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s former leader and father of the country’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, after her sentencing, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025.
Hasina, who fled after violent student protests last year, has been in India ever since.
Hasina said “don’t worry”
According to a PTI report, Hasina said she is not afraid to face her “accusers” in a proper court where the evidence can be fairly weighed and tested.
“That is why I have repeatedly called on the interim government to bring these charges to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.”
The verdict comes months before parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. Hasina’s Awami League party has been banned from running in elections due in February.
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She said millions of Bangladeshis toiling under the “chaotic, violent and socially regressive” administration of Mohammad Yunus “will not be fooled by this attempt to strip them of their democratic rights,” PTI reported.
“They see that the trials conducted by the so-called International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) were never intended to achieve justice or provide any real insight into the events of July and August 2025,” Hasina said.
In recent media interviews, Hasina has called the ICT a “kangaroo court” run by her opponents.
Originally created to try hardened collaborators of Pakistani forces during the 1971 liberation war, the ICT has been changed by the current administration to bring under its jurisdiction leaders of the previous regime, including Hasina.
(With inputs from the agency)
