India on Monday took note of the verdict announced by the “International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh” in which the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh was sentenced to death for his brutal crackdown on protests.
India’s initial response through the Ministry of External Affairs came after Bangladesh urged India to extradite former Prime Minister Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, hours after both were sentenced to death for their roles in the crackdown on a student uprising last year.
“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 Ministry of External Affairs said in a response.
Earlier in the day, a special tribunal in Bangladesh 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.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said in a statement that “International Criminal Court convicted and sentenced fugitives 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 statement said.
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.
Hasina, who fled after violent student protests last year, has been in India ever since.
The verdict comes months before parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. Hasina’s Awami League party has been banned from running in elections scheduled for February.
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.
