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Bangladesh’s interim government is considering an extradition request to India for Sheikh Hasina over several cases including murder accusations. However, do the two nations have an extradition treaty in place? Will New Delhi heed Dhaka’s call if such an appeal is made? read more
 "Can ousted PM Sheikh Hasina be extradited from India to Bangladesh?")
Facing numerous murder cases now, the Bangladesh interim government is now mulling whether to file a request of extradition with India for Sheikh Hasina. File image/Reuters
Nearly a fortnight ago, Bangladesh’s politics changed when anti-government protests forced Sheikh Hasina to resign as prime minister and flee the country, making her way to India. Since then, an interim government under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus has been set up.
Now, it seems that Bangladesh may demand Hasina’s extradition from India with the country’s de-facto foreign minister Mohammad Touhid Hossain saying on Thursday (August 15) that the government will “soon enough decide on the same”.
But what is extradition? Can Sheikh Hasina be extradited? We explore all of this and get you the answers.
Hasina’s likely extradition
On Thursday (August 15), which is marked as National Mourning Day in Bangladesh, the country’s foreign affairs adviser Mohammad Touhid Hossain, speaking to news agency Reuters, said that the government will decide whether to ask India to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is facing numerous cases at home.
In an interview, he said he did not want to speculate, but noted that Hasina was facing “so many cases”. If the country’s home and law ministries decided, “we have to ask for her… return to Bangladesh,” he said.
“That creates an embarrassing situation for the Indian government,” he said, adding India “knows this and I am sure they will take care of it”.
The news of Hasina’s possible extradition comes after she bolted from the country on August 5, facing angry protesters. In the time that she has left, multiple cases have been filed against her. On August 13, a murder case was filed against the former Bangladesh PM for her alleged involvement in the death of grocery shop owner Abu Sayeed, who was killed in a police shooting on July 19. This was the first legal action against Sheikh Hasina since her resignation from the Prime Minister’s office on August 5.
Later, on August 14, a case of enforced disappearance was filed against her and several others, including former ministers of her Cabinet, on the charge of kidnapping a lawyer in 2015. According to a Daily Star report, the application was filed by the victim — Supreme Court lawyer Sohel Rana.
His application, as per the report, said: “On 10 February 2015, I was detained from Sector 5 in Uttara and forced into a vehicle. As soon as I was inside the car, I was nearly made unconscious by electric shocks to my ears and genitals.
“After enduring various forms of brutal torture over time, I was eventually released in August in Godagari, Rajshahi.”
And on August 15, Ataur Rahman, deputy director of the investigation cell of International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic court, said it had launched a third case — an investigation against 10 people, including Hasina, for murder, torture and genocide during the period of the protests.
The case comes after a Supreme Court lawyer filed the case on behalf of Bulbul Kabir, father of slain Arif Ahmed Siyam, a class 9 student who was shot dead by police during the protest on August 5.
Extradition explained
Facing a slew of cases back home, the Bangladesh government may ask for her extradition from India. But what does extradition mean?
Extradition is the formal process of a state surrendering an individual to another state for prosecution or punishment for crimes committed in the requesting country’s jurisdiction. For this, countries sign extradition treaties with one another to facilitate this process.
Extradition treaties between countries vary from one another; some may state what is an extraditable crime. Moreover, treaties also define instances when extradition is to be denied. As the Council on Foreign Relations notes, authorities generally cannot extradite individuals for military or political offences, with exceptions for terrorism and other violent acts. Some states will not extradite to jurisdictions with capital punishment or life imprisonment under any circumstances, or unless the requesting authority pledges not to impose those penalties.
India-Bangladesh extradition treaty
But can Hasina be extradited from India to Bangladesh? And if yes, what’s the process?
New Delhi and Dhaka have an extradition treaty in place since 2013, which allows the countries to exchange convicts or undertrials as and when required. In 2016, there was an amendment added to the treaty, allowing the exchange of convicts sentenced for more than a year in prison but does not apply to political prisoners and asylum seekers.
For Bangladesh to request for Hasina’s extradition, it will have to approach the Indian government, namely the Ministry of External Affairs, which is the central authority in extradition matters.
However, top Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader and former Cabinet minister Abdul Moyeen Khan said that the extradition treaty between the two countries may not be applicable to Hasina’s case. That’s because the agreement between New Delhi and Dhaka doesn’t extend in the case of political asylum seekers.
He told the Indian Express that the government of India hasn’t yet made its position clear on how and on what basis Sheikh Hasina, who fled from Bangladesh, has been accommodated in India.
He told the Indian Express, “It is obvious to the people of Bangladesh that she is probably going to stay for the time being in India. It’s now up to the Indian authorities, the policymakers, the politicians and their foreign ministry to appreciate the circumstances under which she had to leave the country, and whether patronising her and allowing her to make statements which go against the people of Bangladesh would be helpful for the friendly relations between India and Bangladesh.”
In a CNA interview, professor Sreeradha Datta from the Jindal School of International Affairs also noted that it is up to New Delhi now to consider Dhaka’s request based on the charges that the country imposes on her.
Implications for India
The question that many are now asking is will India extradite Hasina if a request is made? India and Sheikh Hasina share old ties — she had sought refuge in India in 1975 after soldiers assassinated her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with seven family members including his 10-year-old son Russell. India had provided political asylum to Hasina. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi met her soon after she returned from Germany and assured her safety, providing her house. In the subsequent years, she has maintained ties with India and the Narendra Modi-led government.
While India has old ties to keep in mind, it also has to remember that it needs to maintain good relations with the current administration in Bangladesh in order to maintain its position in the region. Moreover, it will stoke stronger anti-India sentiments in Bangladesh.
As experts note, India will have to walk a tightrope between old friends and its future in the region. But for now, the future remains uncertain for Hasina.
With inputs from agencies
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English (US) ·