Bangladesh sends formal letter to India for extradition of Sheikh Hasina

According to a Capital Kranti report, Bangladesh's Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman on Sunday called the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a 'convicted criminal' and stated that Dhaka has sent an extradition request to bring her back from India. According to local media reports, the Law Minister made this statement while responding to journalists' questions after inaugurating a training workshop in Dhaka. He said that the government is taking all necessary legal steps to bring Hasina back from India and due process will be followed.

According to a report by the website bdnews24, the Law Minister stated that for him, she is a criminal, a criminal convicted by our tribunal, and this is her identity to us. Regarding bringing Hasina back to Bangladesh, the Law Minister clarified that the government will work according to the law and will not get carried away by emotions. According to a PTI report, he stated that although the Law Ministry is not directly involved in this matter, the Home Ministry is related to it because it is a subject linked to the extradition treaty with India. The matter will be handled strictly according to law and emotions will have no place in it. We have requested her extradition under the treaty and through due process.

As quoted by bdnews24, Asaduzzaman also said that this matter is in the hands of the Indian government and we have sent them a request under the extradition treaty. If they hand her over to us, further action will be taken according to the due process expected by law. Earlier, India acknowledged that it had received Bangladesh's extradition requests for Hasina, but no decision regarding handing her over has been announced. The Ministry of External Affairs has said that these requests are being examined as part of its established procedures.

Following the end of her 15-year rule due to a massive mass movement that took place from July to August 2024, Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh and came to India on 5 August 2024. Thereafter, an interim government under the leadership of Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge. In November 2025, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal found Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 movement. The tribunal, which tried her case in absentia, sentenced her to death on one charge and imprisonment for life on another. Parliamentary elections were held in Bangladesh in February this year, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Tarique Rahman formed the government.

During an audio-only virtual press conference organized in New Delhi on 5 August, Hasina said that despite the possibility of going to jail or being killed, she intends to return to Bangladesh in the month of December. This conversation drew a sharp reaction from Dhaka, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that they are very 'angry' that Hasina was allowed to interact with the media. India distanced itself from the event, stating that it was organized by a private media organization and the government had no involvement in it whatsoever.