A Bangladeshi tribunal has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity. She was found to be the “mastermind and principal architect” of a violent crackdown on protests that killed some 1,400 people last year. Hasina is currently in exile in India.
The three-member bench, led by Justice Mohd Golam Mortuza Majumder, also sentenced former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who turned state witness, to five years of imprisonment in the same case.
The 78-year old politician who was tried in her absence and currently living in exile has called the court’s decision biased and politically motivated in a statement released after the verdict. She said the verdict was a foregone conclusion handed down by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. Talking to media, Ms Hasina’s son Sajeed Wazed expressed outrage over the verdict.
Sheikh Hasina has now been convicted by the court that she established in 2010 to try war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war.
But one significant question has emerged – will it have any effect on the former ruling Awami League party, which Hasina still heads – and what does it mean for her future in politics, if any?
The Bangladesh government has for months been calling for Hasina, who currently resides in India, to be extradited.
A previous extradition plea was for a lesser sentence for contempt of court, which India did not respond to.
But if an elected government comes to power following the scheduled Bangladesh national elections in February next year and pushes for her extradition, or puts pressure to stop her from carrying on party activities from there, it could make it more difficult for India to ignore such a request from an elected government.
While the party maintains there is no internal debate over her leadership, it remains to be seen whether mounting legal restrictions, coupled with increased diplomatic pressure on India for her return, will compel the Awami League to adopt a different strategy in the days ahead.
What next?
As Bangladesh formally seeks the extradition of its ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), questions are mounting over whether India can legally deny the request under existing treaties and Indian law.
India on Monday stated that the matter is “purely legal and judicial”, requiring formal engagement between the two governments.
“This is a judicial and legal process. It requires engagement and consultations between the two governments. We are examining this issue and we look forward to working with the authorities in Bangladesh,” the foreign secretary said.
Hasina and her former home minister were convicted by the ICT for alleged involvement in suppressing the 2024 protests.
The verdict has triggered a sweeping security clampdown in Dhaka, with the army, police and paramilitary forces deployed across the country.
Under India’s Extradition Act, 1962, the Centre has explicit powers to deny extradition, stay proceedings, or discharge the person sought, depending on the circumstances.
Section 29 of the mentioned Act clarifies when India can reject an extradition request.
