Describing the application filed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seeking a new passport and national identity card (NID) as a political stunt, Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Md Aminul Islam on Monday said she would never return to Bangladesh.
He came up with the information while talking to reporters, saying the prosecution would present its official position on the matter at a press conference on Tuesday.
Many media outlets carried reports that Hasina had applied for a new Bangladeshi passport and NID card through the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, India, as part of her reported efforts to return home.
In a letter emailed to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, which was seen by the Associated Press, Hasina’s counsel urged the top diplomat to take necessary action to provide her with a passport and national identity card.
The letter, sent by London-based law firm Matrix Chambers, asked the mission for the application to be processed “expeditiously” on the basis of Hasina’s Bangladeshi nationality and in accordance with “obligations arising under international human rights instruments.”
Hasina fled to India after student-led protests had forced her from power on August 5, 2024 and had since then remained there.
In 2025, a Bangladeshi special tribunal sentenced her to death for crimes against humanity committed during the mass uprising, ruling that she had been responsible for ordering the crackdown, which left hundreds of people dead and thousands of others injured.
Bangladesh has repeatedly sought Hasina’s extradition, but India has declined to hand her over. She first announced in August her intention to return to Bangladesh in December.