India committed to Bangladesh's interests, says MEA on Hasina verdict

The MEA response comes hours after Bangladesh urged India to extradite Hasina, who fled the country during violent student protests last year and has remained in India since

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India on Monday said it has “noted the verdict announced by the ‘International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICT-BD)’ concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina”, after she was found guilty of “crimes against humanity” and sentenced to death.

 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that India continues to support democracy and stability in Bangladesh.

 

“As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” the MEA said.  Embed

 

The response comes hours after Bangladesh urged India to extradite Hasina, who fled the country during violent student protests last year and has remained in India since.

 

Hasina's sentencing

The Awami League leader was tried by the ICT-BD in absentia on allegations that she acted as the “mastermind and principal architect” of the crackdown on large-scale protests against a controversial government job quota system, a response that claimed 1,400 lives. She was facing various charges like murder, attempted murder, torture, etc.

 

Delivering its verdict on Monday, the court sentenced Hasina to death after convicting her of “crimes against humanity”. Her aide, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, was also handed a death sentence, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun received a five-year prison term.

 

Hasina, however, dismissed the verdict as "rigged" and "politically motivated".

 

"The verdicts announced against me have been made by a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. They are biased and politically motivated," Hasina said.