• Source:JND
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Bangladesh has formally requested India to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after a Dhaka court sentenced her to death for crimes against humanity linked to last year’s violent student uprising. In a diplomatic note sent on Monday, Dhaka reminded New Delhi that the two nations share a binding extradition treaty and asserted that India was obligated to facilitate her return. The request also covers former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who was handed the same sentence by the International Crimes Tribunal. 

According to the letter issued by Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, granting refuge to Hasina or Kamal would be considered “a highly unfriendly act” and a direct affront to justice.

The note stated that both leaders, now fugitives, had been convicted for their role in the “July massacre” in which hundreds of student protesters were killed during a nationwide uprising that eventually toppled Hasina’s 15-year rule. Dhaka urged India to comply immediately, saying failure to do so would undermine the longstanding legal and diplomatic framework governing the two countries.

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Death Sentence

The International Crimes Tribunal, headed by Justice Mohd Golam Mortuza Majumder, delivered the verdict earlier in the day. The court found Hasina guilty on three counts after months of hearings, concluding she ordered and oversaw the deadly suppression of demonstrators who rose up against her government last year.

The tribunal also convicted former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. While Kamal was sentenced to death, Al-Mamun was pardoned after seeking public forgiveness.

ALSO READ: Sheikh Hasina Gets Death Sentence For 'Crimes Against Humanity' During Last Year's Student-Led Protests In Bangladesh

A Dramatic Turn In Bangladesh’s Political History

The ruling marks one of the most dramatic turns in Bangladesh’s political history. A leader who once survived the 1975 family massacre and rebuilt her life in exile, Hasina went on to dominate the country’s politics for over a decade before being forced out amid unprecedented student-led unrest. She has been living in India since fleeing Dhaka in the aftermath of the protests, though New Delhi has so far refrained from commenting publicly on her status. 


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