Sheikh Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Days after deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received a death sentence at the International Crimes Tribunal here, the interim government of Bangladesh has sent a letter to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs seeking her extradition, said the Foreign Affairs Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, Touhid Hossein, on Sunday (November 23, 2025).
The remarks from Mr. Hossein came on a day when the International Crimes Tribunal announced another hearing about Ms. Hasina’s alleged involvement in cases related to enforced disappearance of political activists and critics during her sixteen-year-long tenure that ended on August 5, 2024.
Mr. Hossein met reporters in the evening at his office and informed that the letter carrying details of the judgment on Ms. Hasina’s involvement in the crackdown against unarmed protesters in July-August 2024 has been sent to India. “A letter has been sent day before yesterday,” said Mr. Hossein in a brief remark to reporters on Sunday evening. The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi is yet to respond on the matter.
The extradition letter was expected since the ICT gave the death sentence to Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on November 17, 2025. Following the verdict, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said, “We call upon the Government of India to handover these two persons to the authorities in Bangladesh without further delay. This is also a responsibility for India according to the existing extradition treaty between the two sides.” In response, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that they had “noted” the verdict without indicating whether India would consider it.
Subsequently, it was learnt that the concerned authorities had studied the verdict and found that it fell short on several counts, including that the trial was conducted in absentia, especially as it decided on the death sentence for the accused. On Sunday, Chief Prosecutor of the ICT, Tajul Islam, announced that a new round of hearing was on track to try Ms. Hasina for reported enforced disappearances. Mr. Z.I. Khan Panna has been appointed as the state defence lawyer for the ousted Prime Minister Hasina, said Mr. Islam. The ICT may also summon several law and order officials for the hearing on enforced disappearances.
Published – November 23, 2025 10:24 pm IST
