Bangladesh on Monday demanded India extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after she was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over her role in the crackdown on students’ protests last year.
Since being ousted in a mass uprising in August 2024, Hasina has been in exile in India. On Monday, a court in Dhaka sentenced both her and former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in absentia after finding them guilty of crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown against last year’s student-led uprising. Bangladesh claims Kamal is also in India.
“We urge the Government of India to immediately extradite the two convicts to the Bangladeshi authorities,” said Dhaka’s foreign ministry in a statement, adding it was “an obligatory responsibility for India.” It warned that “granting asylum to these convicts … would be extremely unfriendly and an affront to justice.”
In response, India’s foreign ministry said it had “noted the verdict” of Hasina. “India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability,” it said in a statement that did not directly address the issue of potential extradition.
Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, meanwhile, welcomed the verdict. “The awarding of death sentences to Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in the crimes against humanity case is a historic verdict,” he said, calling for calm and warning against any “attempt to violate public order.”