Bangladesh Asks India To Extradite Former PM Hasina To Be Tried
JAKARTA - Bangladesh asked India to extradite or facilitate the return of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Dhaka, the South Asian diplomat said.
"We sent a verbal note to the Indian government stating that the Bangladeshi government wants him (Hasina) back here for the judicial process," Bangladeshi Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain told reporters in Dhaka as reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Tuesday, December 24.
Hasina (77) fled to India on August 5 after a popular uprising against alleged atrocities and oppression during her 15-year reign.
More than 700 people, mostly youths, died in a popular uprising led by the student, which later led to the formation of a transitional government.
Sources in the Indian government confirmed that they had received the verbal note "with respect to requests for extradition" from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Monday.
"Currently, we cannot comment on this issue," an Indian government source told Anadolu.
In Dhaka, Hasina faced many cases, including allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity.
According to the Advisor for Domestic Affairs, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Jalangir Alam Chowdhury, there has been an extradition agreement between Dhaka and New Delhi.
"We have a prisoner swap deal with India. It will be carried out based on the deal," Chowdhury told reporters in Dhaka.
SEE ALSO:
Nobel laureate winner Muhammad Yunus has led the transitional government since August 8.
New Delhi previously stated that Hasina was in India "for now."
Bilateral relations between the two neighboring South Asian countries are getting worse with Dhaka accusing Indian media of propaganda against Bangladesh.
After Indian media began giving space for statements allegedly issued by Hasina, Yunus asked New Delhi to keep the former prime minister silent.
In the latest developments since August, India sent its first high-level delegation to Bangladesh earlier this month.
Yunus told the Main Secretary of the Indian State Department,tender Misri, that Hasina's presence in India was causing tensions.