'No comment': India confirms getting Sheikh Hasina's extradition note from Bangladesh

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh on Monday sent India a note verbale (formal diplomatic note), requesting extradition of its ousted PM Sheikh Hasina.

"We sent a note verbal (diplomatic message) to the Indian government saying that the Bangladesh government wants her (Hasina) back here for judicial process," foreign adviser Touhid Hossain told The Daily Star at the foreign ministry this afternoon.

Home affairs adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury told Dhaka Tribune: "We have a prisoner exchange agreement with India. It will be carried out under that agreement."

The ministry of external affairs also confirmed receiving a note verbal from Dhaka and refused to offer further comment on the matter.

"We confirm that we have received a Note Verbale from the Bangladesh High Commission today in connection with an extradition request. At this time, we have no comment to offer on this matter," the ministery of external affairs spokesperson said.

Last month, Bangladesh's interim head Muhammad Yunus had announced that the government would seek Hasina's extradition from India. Hasina fled to India on August 5 this year after mass protests against her regime.

The Nobel Laureate while addressing the nation on his 100th day in office, said that his administration would prosecute those accountable, including Hasina, for the numerous casualties during the student protests that concluded her 15-year leadership.

"We will seek the return of the fallen autocrat Sheikh Hasina from India," Yunus said.

"I have already discussed the issue with chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan," he added.

Plan to put Hasina on trial

Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, under the extradition treaty with India, plans to bring Hasina back "to try her for mass killings during the student-led protests in July and August".

Md Tajul Islam, the newly-appointed chief prosecutor of Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), has said that Dhaka will file an application with ICT to issue an arrest warrant against Hasina.

The extradition of Hasina, who faces 51 cases, including 42 for murder, is governed by the extradition treaty signed between Bangladesh and India in 2013 and amended in 2016. The treaty states that "extradition may be refused if the offence for which it is requested is an offence of a political character."

However, it also specifies that certain offences, such as murder, "shall not be regarded as offences of a political character" for the purposes of the treaty. One ground for refusal of extradition is if the charges being pressed have not been "made in good faith, in the interest of justice," according to the BSS report.
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