Bangladesh Sends Extradition Request for Sheikh Hasina to India, Awaits Response

By Masum Billah, Dhaka

Bangladesh has sent a complete set of documents to India for the extradition of Sheikh Hasina and will issue a reminder when the country's leadership deems it necessary, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Rafiqul Alam said today (February 13).

Responding to a question at a weekly briefing, Alam also confirmed that all required documents were included when Bangladesh sent a note verbale to India regarding the extradition.

Regarding when Bangladesh will remind India about the process, he said, "It is both a diplomatic and political decision."

So far, India has not responded to Bangladesh's request for Hasina's extradition, despite the Foreign Ministry's note verbale.

"We continue to expect a response from India," Alam added.

When asked whether the UN fact-finding reports would be sent to India to facilitate the extradition process, Alam replied in the negative.

"The whole world is aware of the report of the UN fact-finding mission on human rights violations during the July-August protests. There is no relevance in sharing it with India. This report is for Bangladesh's own use. Why should we share it with India? Different agencies will decide their instructions and actions based on this report."

The note verbale—a diplomatic communication written in the third person and unsigned—was sent at the end of December.

Since then, India has refrained from commenting further on the request.

"You know, a week back, I had confirmed that we have received a communication from the Bangladesh authorities in respect of former PM Sheikh Hasina. Further than that, I have nothing to add at this point in time," said Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson at the Ministry of External Affairs, in January.

Interim government adviser Mahfuj Alam had said a few days earlier that they had heard India would not return Hasina.

"Our observation is that they have made a political decision not to return her. We are hearing as much," the adviser said.

Bangladesh was supposed to send a reminder after a certain period if no reply was received from New Delhi.

He said the government would take the next step based on the reply from the Indian side. "At this moment, we won't make any comments as we will wait for the reply."

Hasina is facing over 100 cases with a wide range of charges, including murder, genocide, and crimes against humanity over killings during the July uprising that led her to flee to India on 5 August.

Bangladesh and India signed an extradition treaty in 2013, which was later amended in 2016, providing a legal framework for such requests.

In July 2016, Bangladesh and India amended Article 10(3) of their bilateral extradition treaty to facilitate the swift extradition of fugitive criminals between the two nations.