No slowdown in Hasina extradition efforts, says state minister

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam on Thursday said Bangladesh is continuing diplomatic efforts to bring former prime minister Sheikh Hasina back to the country to face trial while acknowledging that the process will take time.

Speaking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the state minister dismissed recent remarks by Hasina, saying: “What she (Hasina) is saying is not relevant at all. Our efforts are underway to bring her back.”

She said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Home Ministry and the Law Ministry are coordinating the extradition process. The Home and Law Ministries, she added, will examine whether there are any legal complexities involved.

The minister said work on the extradition request had begun under the interim government and has continued with renewed efforts since the current government took office in February this year. She added that the people of Bangladesh want Hasina to be extradited.

India has previously confirmed that it is reviewing Bangladesh’s request. On 17 April, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi was examining the request through its judicial and internal legal processes.

“There is a request... the request is being examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes,” Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi, adding that India would continue to engage constructively with all stakeholders on the matter.

On 8 April, Bangladesh formally reiterated its request for the extradition of Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. Both have been sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal.

The prime minister's foreign affairs adviser, Humaiun Kobir, also recently reaffirmed the government's position, saying Bangladesh would continue pursuing Hasina’s extradition through a transparent judicial process.

“We will continue to seek her extradition through a transparent judicial process. It (the extradition request) has been discussed. It will be dealt with through a transparent judicial process,” he told reporters in Dhaka.