“Sheikh Hasina Has No Option but to Face the Death Penalty”: Bangladesh Demands Her Extradition from India

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Chief Prosecutor, Mohammad Aminul Islam, has said that former Prime Minister and Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina has no legal option but to face the death sentence. He said that if Hasina returns to Bangladesh, she will have to face the verdict. According to foreign media reports, Sheikh Hasina said earlier this year that she planned to return to Bangladesh in December. She also stated that the possibility of being arrested or killed would not prevent her from returning to the country. “I may be sent to prison or even killed, but fear cannot determine what my responsibility towards the people is,” she said.

According to the report, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam has questioned Hasina's plans to return home. He said that if she genuinely intended to return to Bangladesh, she should have done so during the trial. She should have appeared before the court, faced the proceedings and presented her defence. Commenting on the Awami League leader's reported request to the Bangladesh High Commission for a new passport and national identity card, Aminul Islam said there was no legal basis for issuing travel documents to someone who had already been sentenced to death. Referring to the Bangladesh Passport Order 1973, he said that Sections 6 and 7 of the law prohibit the issuance of passports to convicted individuals.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Humayun Kabir, has demanded that India extradite the fugitive former prime minister, saying that Dhaka wants to bring her back through legal procedures. Diplomatic tensions between Bangladesh and India over the return of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid remain unresolved. Humayun Kabir made it clear that the Bangladeshi government was seeking Hasina's extradition from India through legal channels. He said that Hasina was not in India for tourism or a family visit but was wanted by the courts in Bangladesh. She would be brought back to face justice and serve the sentences imposed under the law.