India on Monday reacted to the death sentence verdict ordered for former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina by a tribunal court for “crimes against humanity” against student protesters in Dhaka last year that led to her ouster. Hasina had fled to India last year after her ouster and has since been staying in a secret safe house in Delhi, her son Sajeeb Wazed earlier said.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “India has noted the verdict announced by the ‘International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh’ concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country.”
Follow live updates related to Sheikh Hasina's verdict here.
“We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” the statement further said.
The statement also comes after Bangladesh's foreign ministry requested India to extradite “fugitive accused” Sheikh Hasina, saying that it was an “obligatory responsibility” for New Delhi to ensure the former PM's return to Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina found guilty, sentenced to death
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal found Hasina guilty on three charges: incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities.
{{/usCountry}}Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal found Hasina guilty on three charges: incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities.
{{/usCountry}}“We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence -- that is, sentence of death,” the court said.
Reacting to the death sentence handed to her, Hasina denied the accusations made against her in the court and said that the order was made by a "rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate".
Apart from the former prime minister, the country's ex-interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also sentenced to death in absentia. He was found guilty on four counts of “crimes against humanity”.
Bangladesh seeks return of Hasina from India
In a letter, Bangladesh's foreign ministry cited an extradition agreement with India to seek the former prime minister's return, who has been staying in New Delhi ever since her ouster from her home country.
"Providing refuge to these individuals, who have been convicted of crimes against humanity, by any other country would be a highly unfriendly act and a disregard for justice,” the letter from the Bangladeshi ministry read.