- The Bangladeshi official did not elaborate on the contents of the letter.
- Former prime minister sentenced to death for lethal repression.
- It is Delhi’s responsibility to facilitate their return: Ministry of External Affairs.
Bangladesh’s government said on Sunday it had asked India to extradite ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was sentenced earlier this week to hanging for a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising.
Hasina, 78, has been hiding in India since her autocratic government was overthrown in August 2024. As prime minister, she had enjoyed the backing of New Delhi.
Touhid Hossain, who holds the foreign affairs portfolio in Bangladesh’s interim administration, told reporters that on Friday “we sent a letter requesting the extradition of Sheikh Hasina.”
He did not give further details about the content of the letter, which according to the Bengali newspaper Prothom Alo It was the third official extradition request since Hasina fled.
Following Monday’s court ruling that convicted Hasina of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death, the Ministry of External Affairs in Dhaka said in a statement that Delhi had a “mandatory responsibility” under a bilateral treaty to facilitate the former leader’s return.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in response that it had “taken note” of the verdict, without commenting directly on the extradition request.
He did not immediately respond to Dhaka’s latest letter.
Bangladesh has been mired in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s government, and violence has marred campaigning for elections scheduled for February 2026.
The United Nations said up to 1,400 people died in the crackdown as Hasina tried to cling to power, deaths that were central to her trial.
India’s past support for Hasina has frayed relations between the two neighbors since her ouster.
But tensions appear to have eased slightly as Bangladesh’s National Security Advisor Khalilur Rahman visited India this week for a regional security summit and met his counterpart Ajit Doval.
Media reports in Bangladesh said Rahman invited Doval for a visit.
