Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing an extradition request to India for the return of convicted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, now living in exile in New Delhi.
Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Ahmed told a group of journalists informally that the ministry is currently readying the extradition letter, which is expected to be sent within a day or two along with a note verbale. He added that a copy of the verdict will not be included in the communication.
On Monday, the International Crimes Tribunal awarded the capital punishment to longest-serving prime minister of the country along with her home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal for their role in brutal crackdown in July and August last year.
Meanwhile, the certified copy of the short order of ICT’s verdicts has not yet been sent to the ministries concerned.
Sources at the tribunal confirmed that the copy was scheduled to be dispatched this morning to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Police Headquarters, and Central Jail.
The entire process has been halted due to the illness of tribunal chairman, sources said.
“The Chairman is unwell. It will not be possible to prepare and distribute the certified copy of the verdict until his recovery,” said an official wishing not to be named.
“No new date has been fixed for sending the copies,” said the official.
Prosecutor Tanvir Hassan Zoha said it is normal practice that the judge may take time in writing the copy of the verdict.
“There is no specific time for writing the short order after judgment,” he told TIMES of Bangladesh.
HRW on ICT verdicts
Human Rights Watch in a statement on Tuesday alleged that the death penalty against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina followed a process that “failed to meet international fair trial standards.”
“There is enduring anger and anguish in Bangladesh over Hasina’s repressive rule, but all criminal proceedings need to meet international fair trial standards,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at HRW.
“Those responsible for horrific abuses under the Hasina administration should be held to account after impartial investigations and credible trials.”
The HRW statement said that both were prosecuted in absentia, not represented by counsel of their choosing, and sentenced to death, raising serious human rights concerns.
The Bangladeshi authorities committed serious human rights violations during the three weeks of protests in July and August 2024 that toppled the Hasina government.
While those responsible for abuses should be appropriately held to account, the prosecution failed to meet international fair trial standards, including for a full opportunity to present a defence and question the witnesses against them, and the right to be represented by counsel of one’s choosing.
Concerns over the fairness of the trial are exacerbated by the death sentences, the New York-based rights organisations said.
National Cyber Security Agency voices concern
The National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) has expressed grave concern that several digital or electronic platforms in the country have been spreading false statements made by fugitive and convicted individuals, warning that it would take necessary actions to stop such dissemination.
The NCSA in a statement on Monday night said that such dissemination has already disrupted national security and public order over the past week and continues to do so.
“It is observed that these digital or electronic media were circulating hate speech or ethnic incitement, which is creating violence, causing public anxiety about violence, and apparently spreading widespread disorder or criminal activities,” it said.
