Bangladesh’s interim government sent a formal diplomatic letter (a “note verbal”) to India via the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, requesting the extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This follows her death sentence, handed down in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on November 17, 2025, for crimes against humanity related to the violent suppression of the July-August 2024 student-led uprising that led to her ouster. The letter also seeks the return of her former Home Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who received a similar sentence.
Bangladesh first requested Hasina’s repatriation in December 2024, shortly after she fled to India, but received no response from New Delhi. A second public urging came immediately after the ICT verdict on November 17, with Foreign Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain confirming the follow-up letter would invoke the 2013 India-Bangladesh Extradition Treaty.
The letter cites the treaty’s obligations, arguing that India has a “binding duty” to extradite the convicts. Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry stated that providing shelter to those sentenced for such crimes would be an “unfriendly act” and a “travesty of justice.” Hasina, 78, has been living in India as an “honoured guest” since August 2024, alongside family members.
The tribunal convicted Hasina and Kamal of genocide and crimes against humanity for ordering security forces to crack down on protesters, resulting in hundreds of deaths. A third defendant, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, received a lighter five-year sentence as a state witness.
India has acknowledged receiving prior communications but has not committed to action. Officials note that the extradition treaty includes safeguards, such as exemptions for “political offenses” or cases lacking due process assurances, which could apply here given criticisms of the ICT as politically motivated (a view echoed by Hasina herself, who called the trial “biased”).
