- The Bangladesh official did not elaborate on the content of the letter.
- Former prime minister sentenced to death for deadly repression.
- It is Delhi’s responsibility to facilitate her return: the Ministry of External Affairs.
Bangladesh’s government said on Sunday it had asked India to extradite ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was sentenced to be hanged earlier this week after a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising.
Hasina, 78, has been in hiding in India since her autocratic rule was toppled in August 2024. As prime minister, she had the backing of New Delhi.
Touhid Hossain, who holds the portfolio of foreign affairs in Bangladesh’s interim administration, told reporters that on Friday “we sent a letter requesting the extradition of Sheikh Hasina.”
He did not elaborate on the content of the letter, as per the Bengali newspaper Prothom Alo was the third official extradition request since Hasina fled.
After the court’s ruling on Monday that convicted Hasina of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death, the foreign ministry in Dhaka said in a statement that Delhi had a “mandatory responsibility” under a bilateral treaty to facilitate the former leader’s return.
In response, India’s foreign minister said it had “noted” the judgment, without commenting directly on the extradition request.
It did not immediately respond to the latest letter from Dhaka.
Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s rule, and violence has marred the campaign for elections expected in February 2026.
The United Nations said up to 1,400 people were killed in a crackdown as Hasina tried to cling to power, deaths central to her trial.
India’s past support for Hasina has frayed relations between the two neighbors since her ouster.
But tensions appear to have eased slightly as Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman visited India this week for a regional security summit and met with his counterpart Ajit Doval.
Media reports in Bangladesh said that Rahman has invited Doval for a visit.
