Bangladesh will send a fresh formal request to India seeking the extradition of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, both sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during last year’s July uprising, Law Adviser Professor Asif Nazrul said on Thursday.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy after a meeting of the interim government’s Advisory Council, Nazrul said the government now considers India to have an “added responsibility” under the bilateral extradition treaty, given that the two former leaders are no longer political fugitives but convicted criminals.
“We are sending a letter to India for the extradition of Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan,” Nazrul said.
“Now that they have been sentenced, India has an additional obligation under the treaty. The people of Bangladesh expect justice, and we are reminding India of its treaty-bound duty.”
Nazrul added that the government would soon take a decision on whether Bangladesh should explore “any avenue of approach” to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to secure the return of the convicted individuals.
The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina and Kamal to death on November 17 after finding them guilty of ordering and enabling widespread killings and atrocities during the July–August 2024 student uprising.
Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun received a five-year sentence after testifying as a state witness.
At the briefing, Nazrul also addressed the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling earlier in the day, reinstating the non-partisan caretaker government system.
The Appellate Division overturned its own 2011 judgment that had declared the 13th Amendment unconstitutional and paved the way for the Awami League government to abolish the caretaker provision through the 15th Amendment.
“This is a historic verdict,” Nazrul said.
“After a long struggle, the caretaker government has been restored. During caretaker administrations, fair elections were held and power changed hands peacefully. That system was repealed in an entirely questionable manner.”
Referendum law
Nazrul also confirmed that the interim government is moving to introduce a legal framework for holding referendums, a mechanism currently absent in Bangladeshi law.
“There is a need to enact a law on referendums. The government will issue an ordinance very soon, likely within the next three to four working days,” he said.
The legal adviser said both the reinstatement of the caretaker system and the push to establish referendum legislation are aimed at strengthening democratic participation and rebuilding public trust in political processes after years of erosion.
