Sheikh Hasina extradition request: Bangladesh urges India to act with 'conscience', 'moral clarity'

Ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Bangladesh's interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has urged India to act with "conscience and moral clarity" over its handling of the extradition request for ousted PM Sheikh Hasina. The former Prime Minister of Bangladesh is facing charges of crimes against humanity.

"We now urge the Republic of India to act with conscience and moral clarity. For too long, India has refused to comply with Bangladesh's lawful request for the extradition of Sheikh Hasina," Yunus's press secretary Shafiqul Alam said.

In December 2024, Bangladesh sent India a note verbale, requesting Hasina's extradition. While New Delhi had confirmed receipt of the formal diplomatic note, it did not comment further.

Alam went on to describe India's stance as 'no longer tenable'. "Neither regional friendship, strategic considerations, nor political legacy could justify the deliberate murder of civilians," he said.

The statement came a day after BBC Bangla Service carried a report, based on a leaked phone call, suggesting Hasina had ordered security forces to shoot protesting students during last year's mass uprising.

"The BBC Eye Investigations unit has now confirmed Hasina's direct role in 'state-sanctioned' murder, and when a global institution like the BBC 'commits its full investigative resources to uncovering crimes in Bangladesh', the international community must take note," Alam added.

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal-1 has set July 10 to decide whether charges will be framed against Hasina and two of her top aides. Last week, the ousted PM was sentenced to six months in prison in absentia in a contempt of court case by the ICT.

It marks the first time that the 77-year-old Awami League leader has been sentenced in any case since she left office in August last year.

According to a UN rights office report, at least 1,400 people were killed between July 15 and August 15 last year as the then Hasina-led government ordered a security crackdown on protesters.

The Awami League leader fled to India just before her government collapsed after being in power for nearly 16 years. Despite a request from Dhaka, India has not extradited her, and legal experts say it is unlikely she will return to face trial.