What will be India’s stance on Bangladesh’s ousted PM Sheikh Hasina?

The International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) for Bangladesh has sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death, but questions arise as to whether this is justice or political revenge. Now that Hasina has taken refuge in India, what impact will this decision have on her? Will the Yunus government put pressure on India and what can India do about it as per the rules?

The case concerns the 2024 student movement, which started against job quotas but turned into a revolution against Hasina’s government. Protests broke out across the country, resulting in the deaths of students, protesters, and security forces. ICT blamed Hasina for these deaths. He was charged with five crimes:

Charge No. 1 – Ordering the murders
Charge No. 2 – Inciting violence through seditious speech
Charge No. 3 – Obstructing justice/attempting to destroy evidence.
Charge No. 4 – Ordering the murder of student Abu Sayeed
Charge No. 5 – Provoking murders and burning the bodies of five people in Çanharpul.

Hasina was sentenced to death penalty on charges number 1 and 2, and life imprisonment on charge number 3.

Bangladesh formally requested India to immediately extradite Sheikh Hasina, stating that New Delhi was obliged to do so under the bilateral extradition treaty. Bangladesh’s interim government cited the 2013 extradition agreement with India. What is this agreement and what rights does India have under it?

The Extradition Treaty between India and Bangladesh was signed by the governments of both countries in Dhaka on January 28, 2013. This agreement was created to combat extremism, terrorism and criminal activity across common borders. This agreement, which entered into force on October 23, 2013, was amended in 2016.

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The Yunus government refers to this agreement, but India has no obligation to extradite Sheikh Hasina under this agreement. This treaty has a total of 13 articles, and Article 6 of them needs to be examined carefully. Article 6 does not cover political crimes. It is clearly stated that extradition may be refused if the requested crime is of a political nature.

Hasina claims that the decision against her was politically motivated. According to this agreement, India has no obligation to hand over Hasina. After this decision, Hasina also questioned the court that sentenced her to death. So you must understand that this court, called the International Crimes Court, is international in name only. In reality, he is now a puppet of the Yunus government.