India cannot give Bangladesh any timeframe for the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said on Saturday, adding that Dhaka's request is being examined through a legal and "well-structured process".
"Again and again, the Government of India through the Spokesperson in MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) has replied to this — that there is a process, and that the process involves legality, and it is well-structured. So, as far as that is concerned, the process is on," Trivedi said in response to a question from a student at the Bay of Bengal Conversation, an annual conclave organised by the Dhaka-based Centre for Governance Studies.
The incumbent Bangladesh government, led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, has demanded several times that Hasina be extradited to face justice for the July-August 2024 crackdown, in which Bangladesh's own account says at least 800 civilians, including many students, died. A panel under the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has placed the number of fatalities at about 1,400.
Not brought to India by Indian forces
Trivedi stressed that Hasina had not been flown out by the Indian Air Force or the Army. A Bangladesh Air Force aircraft carried her to India on August 5, 2024, as the protests — dubbed the July Uprising — toppled her government, and a Bangladesh Army-led security detachment had escorted her from her official residence.
"At that point in time, Hasina was still the prime minister of Bangladesh. We had hardly any choice on that. It was our duty as a neighbour to accept the reality of life, because situations are such where at times you are not prepared for it," Trivedi said, adding that such circumstances should never be repeated anywhere in the world.
A 2013 treaty governs the request
India and Bangladesh signed an extradition treaty in 2013, which sets out specified grounds on which an extradition request may be halted — including that the offence is "of a political character". India's external affairs ministry has maintained that Dhaka's request is being examined in line with established processes.
Hasina, 79, has been living in India since August 5, 2024, when her government collapsed following a massive anti-government agitation. The uprising began as a protest against a government job-quota system before widening into a broader anti-government movement.
Sources:
Sheikh Hasina's extradition possible via 'well-structured' process: India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh — The Hindu
India cannot give deadline on Hasina's extradition to Bangladesh: envoy — ThePrint (PTI)
"Again and again, the Government of India through the Spokesperson in MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) has replied to this — that there is a process, and that the process involves legality, and it is well-structured. So, as far as that is concerned, the process is on," Trivedi said in response to a question from a student at the Bay of Bengal Conversation, an annual conclave organised by the Dhaka-based Centre for Governance Studies.
The incumbent Bangladesh government, led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, has demanded several times that Hasina be extradited to face justice for the July-August 2024 crackdown, in which Bangladesh's own account says at least 800 civilians, including many students, died. A panel under the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has placed the number of fatalities at about 1,400.
Not brought to India by Indian forces
Trivedi stressed that Hasina had not been flown out by the Indian Air Force or the Army. A Bangladesh Air Force aircraft carried her to India on August 5, 2024, as the protests — dubbed the July Uprising — toppled her government, and a Bangladesh Army-led security detachment had escorted her from her official residence.
"At that point in time, Hasina was still the prime minister of Bangladesh. We had hardly any choice on that. It was our duty as a neighbour to accept the reality of life, because situations are such where at times you are not prepared for it," Trivedi said, adding that such circumstances should never be repeated anywhere in the world.
A 2013 treaty governs the request
India and Bangladesh signed an extradition treaty in 2013, which sets out specified grounds on which an extradition request may be halted — including that the offence is "of a political character". India's external affairs ministry has maintained that Dhaka's request is being examined in line with established processes.
Hasina, 79, has been living in India since August 5, 2024, when her government collapsed following a massive anti-government agitation. The uprising began as a protest against a government job-quota system before widening into a broader anti-government movement.
Sources:
Sheikh Hasina's extradition possible via 'well-structured' process: India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh — The Hindu
India cannot give deadline on Hasina's extradition to Bangladesh: envoy — ThePrint (PTI)
