Bangladesh seeks extradition of ousted PM from India for 'massacres'
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Bangladesh and India have an extradition agreement that was signed in 2013. However, the treaty may offer the former prime minister diplomatic immunity.
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Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks during an interview at a hotel in New York, on September 22, 2022. (AFP)
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is seeking extradition of ousted leader Sheikh Hasina from India, the court's chief prosecutor stated, accusing her of committing "massacres."
"As the main perpetrator has fled the country, we will start the legal procedure to bring her back," ICT chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told reporters on Sunday.
Bangladesh has an extradition agreement with India that was signed in 2013, permitting the return of the former leader to face criminal trial.
"As she has been made the main accused of the massacres in Bangladesh, we will try to legally bring her back to Bangladesh to face trial," Islam asserted.
Despite Dhaka revoking Hasina's diplomatic passport, the treaty includes a clause refusing extradition if the offense is committed by a "political character."
Hasina should 'keep quiet' while in exile
The former prime minister fled the country after resigning amid nationwide student-led protests that resulted in over 600 people killed, ending her 15-year rule.
Hasina and her government have been accused of human rights violations, including mass detention and extrajudicial killings of their political opponents.
Bangladesh was infuriated with the 76-year-old's flight to India, where she has not been seen in public since she left the country. Her last official location was at a military airbase near New Delhi.
"If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," interim leader Muhammad Yunus told the Press Trust of India news agency.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner's government has been under pressure from the public to extradite Hasina, demanding her trial for the hundreds of protestors killed during the recent weeks of political unrest.
Last month, a retired high court judge launched an investigation into hundreds of enforced disappearances by security forces under Hasina's rule.
Two new murder cases filed against former Bangladesh PM
Two new murder cases have been filed against Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her former cabinet for killing three people during July's violent student-led anti-quota demonstrations, according to media reports.
The cases were filed in Dhaka courts last Friday, bringing the total number of legal cases against Hasina to 84.
As of Friday, the 76-year-old former leader faced 70 murder charges, eight cases of alleged crimes against humanity and genocide, three charges for alleged abduction, and three other charges, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
Two of the three people killed during the protests on August 4 include Zulkar Hossain, 38, and Anjana, 28, members of Hasina's former opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The case was filed by the party's activist Matiur Rahman in Kishoreganj.
The case statement details leaders of the Awami League party attacking a procession of the student movement and BNP activists with firearms, batons, and sharp weapons.
Some BNP members sought refuge in the home of a district Awami League leader in the nearby Khormaptri area where they were confined by Hasina-led party supporters. Hossain and Anjana were killed by the activists who set them on fire.
