Indian officials say they are investigating Dhaka’s latest request, which was made after Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia.
India says it is investigating Bangladesh’s request for the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was recently sentenced to death in absentia in a crackdown against a popular uprising.
India’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on Wednesday that his government was examining Dhaka’s request for extradition of the 78-year-old man, who fled to India after being ousted in a mass uprising in August last year.
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“As part of the ongoing judicial and internal legal processes, we are committed to serving the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country,” Jaiswal said. He said New Delhi “will continue to engage constructively with all stakeholders in this regard”.
Bangladesh had initially requested Hasina’s extradition last year. On Sunday, officials said they had recently sent another letter, urging New Delhi to hand over its fugitive former leader.
sentenced to death
The letter came after Hasina was convicted of crimes against humanity by a special International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) in Dhaka, which sentenced her to death on November 17.
Following the court verdict, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that India had an “imperative responsibility” under the bilateral extradition treaty signed in 2013 to extradite the former leader, adding that allowing him to stay in India was a “serious act of unfriendly behaviour”.
The statement said that “granting asylum to individuals guilty of crimes against humanity is a travesty of justice for another country”.
But observers say India is highly unlikely to agree to hand over Hasina.
“India understands it (Hasina’s case) as a political vendetta by the ruling political forces in Bangladesh,” Sanjay Bhardwaj, a professor of South Asian studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told Al Jazeera last week.
Hasina, who led Bangladesh for 15 years, fled to India during the height of the mass uprising against her fundamentalist rule. The United Nations said more than 1,400 people were killed in the crackdown against protesters.
Bangladesh is due to hold its first general elections since the rebellion in February and Hasina’s party, the Awami League, has been barred from taking part.
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