India reacts to Sheikh Hasina verdict: 'Remain committed to best interests of people of Bangladesh'

Former PM Sheikh Hasina was ousted from Bangladesh following a mass uprising by students against the erstwhile government

After Bangladesh sought the handing over of former Prime Minister and “fugitive accused” Sheikh Hasina citing a tribunal's death sentence to the Awami League leader, India on Monday said it would " engage constructively with all stakeholders".

"India has noted the verdict announced by the "International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh” concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end," read the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs ministry.

In a letter, the Bangladesh ministry cited an extradition agreement with India and said it was an “obligatory responsibility” for New Delhi to ensure Hasina's return to Bangladesh. "Providing refuge to these individuals, who have been convicted of crimes against humanity, by any other country would be a highly unfriendly act and a disregard for justice,” the letter from the foreign ministry of Bangladesh read.

Hasina on Monday was convicted of “crimes against humanity” and sentenced to death by a tribunal that she herself set up in 2009 to allegedly go after political enemies.

In a 453-page judgment, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) found Hasina, 78, and two co-accused guilty of allowing the use of lethal force against protesters and failing to prevent atrocities against them during last July’s protests.

Hasina was ousted from Bangladesh following a mass uprising by students against the erstwhile government. Massive protests rocked the country in July last year, which eventually brought down her government and led to her ouster in August. She has been living in exile in India since then.

Hasina on Monday responded to the verdict made against her, calling the decision made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate".

In a statement oshared by the Bangladesh Awami league, she said, "The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. They are biased and politically motivated. In their distasteful call for the death penalty, they reveal the brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government to remove Bangladesh's last elected prime minister, and to nullify the Awami League as a political force. "

She slammed the administration of Yunus and said millions of Bangladeshis toiling under the chaotic, violent and socially-regressive administration of Dr Mohammad Yunus will not be fooled. "They can see that the trials conducted by the so-called International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) were never intended to achieve justice or provide any genuine insight into the events of July and August 2025. Rather, their purpose was to scapegoat the Awami League and to distract the world's attention from the failings of Dr Yunus and his ministers," she said.