Dhaka : The interim administration of Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh is preparing to seek Interpol’s help to get ousted PM Sheikh Hasina and home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal extradited from India, days after the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Dhaka sentenced the duo to death for crimes against humanity. The ICT prosecutor’s plan to seek Interpol’s help comes just days after Dhaka’s foreign ministry said it is preparing to write to New Delhi for the same.
However, another suspect, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who turned approver and state witness, was spared the hangman’s noose and handed a five-year prison term. After the student protests of July-August 2024 were hijacked by Islamist groups and forced Sheikh Hasina from power, she fled to India and is reported to be in New Delhi.
Following the duo’s sentencing on Monday, prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim on Tuesday said preparations were underway to request an Interpol Red Notice for the “two fugitives on the basis of a conviction warrant”, reported Bangladeshi daily The Financial Express. Both the accused are absconding, and an application has already been submitted to Interpol, along with the Tribunal’s arrest warrant, seeking issuance of a Red Notice.
While India has not directly responded to Dhaka’s requests, it offered a measured statement after the ICT handed the duo death sentences. New Delhi said it remains committed to the “best interests of the people of Bangladesh” and will “always engage constructively with all stakeholders”.
The police in Bangladesh had earlier sought Interpol red notices for 12 “absconding” suspects accused of crimes against humanity, including Sheikh Hasina, after cases were filed last year.
Dhaka’s foreign ministry said it was finalising a note to be sent to India and might send it within days. A senior official said that Dhaka had previously written to India in December 2024 requesting Hasina’s extradition but received no response, reported the Daily Star. India and Bangladesh have a 2013 extradition treaty that obligates both countries to hand over convicted fugitives. However, the treaty also allows refusal in cases deemed “political in character”, and experts say Hasina’s case may fall into a legally grey and politically sensitive zone.
The ICT prosecutor said Hasina and Kamal must surrender and file appeals within 30 days, as required under the special tribunal law. Responding to the death sentence, both Hasina and Kamal have alleged that the verdict was politically motivated and lacked due process. Hasina’s Awami League condemned the judgment as “made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate”. The party called the process “biased and politically motivated”.
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