NEW DELHI: The Awami League on Thursday denounced the request made by Bangladesh’s interim government to India for extraditing former premier Sheikh Hasina and alleged that it was part of a conspiracy to kill her “in a farcical trial”.
The Awami League accused the “unconstitutional and illegal” interim government of seizing “power illegally” and being behind several conspiracies to kill Hasina. In a statement in Bengali, the party questioned the validity of Dhaka’s extradition request by contending that “false cases for political reasons” are not covered by the 2013 extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh made a formal request to India on December 23 to extradite Hasina, a move that added to the strain in relations between the two sides. There was no immediate response from the interim government to the statement by the Awami League.
Hasina has been living in India since she stepped down and fled Dhaka in August. The external affairs ministry confirmed it had received the extradition request but declined to comment on the issue.
The Awami League’s statement said the party was deeply concerned that the “unconstitutional and illegal so-called interim government, which has seized power illegally, is involved in one conspiracy after another to kill” Hasina. “As part of this, they have recently requested the Indian government through a diplomatic note to extradite [Hasina],” it said.
“They want to kill Sheikh Hasina as part of a meticulous design in the name of justice,” the statement said. The Awami League alleged that Nahid Islam, the de facto information and broadcasting minister, and other officials of the interim government have publicly stated that “they will hang Sheikh Hasina”.
The Awami League also alleged that a case of genocide was filed against Hasina because of the steps she had taken to bring to justice those accused of war crimes and mass murder during the 1971 war of liberation.
{{/usCountry}}The Awami League also alleged that a case of genocide was filed against Hasina because of the steps she had taken to bring to justice those accused of war crimes and mass murder during the 1971 war of liberation.
{{/usCountry}}“The Bangladesh Awami League thinks that this extradition request of the so-called interim government...does not have any significance under the extradition treaty between the two countries because false cases for political reasons are not covered by this agreement,” the statement said.
“Moreover, this agreement does not apply if there is a risk of miscarriage of justice. Today the whole world knows that there is no rule of law or justice in Bangladesh,” it added.
The statement said forces backing those involved in war crimes in 1971 want to bring Hasina back to Bangladesh “through this extradition treaty for the purpose of killing her in a farcical trial”.
The Awami League described the interim government as an “evil force” and repeated an earlier allegation that it was involved in killing Awami League leaders, workers and supporters, police personnel and members of the Hindu, Buddhist and Christian minorities. “According to international law, these killings fall under the category of genocide...Their murders, oppression and torture are greater than what was witnessed even in 1971,” the statement said.