Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina has ‘no option’ but to face death sentence if she returns, says Bangladesh prosecutor

Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has “no option" left but to face the death sentence verdict against her if she returns, the chief prosecutor of the country's international crime tribunal said on Tuesday.In August this year, Sheikh Hasina said she planned to return to Bangladesh in December. (AFP)“Sheikh Hasina has no option but to face the execution of the verdict,” news agency AFP quoted Md Aminul Islam as saying in response to reports that Hasina was planning to return from India.Hasina fled to India after her ouster in August 2024, following the mass uprising in Bangladesh. She was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity by a tribunal over the alleged 2024 crackdown on protesters.However, earlier this year, she said she planned to return to Bangladesh in December, asserting that the possibilities of arrest or her being killed would not stop her. “I may be sent to prison or be killed, but fear cannot decide my duty to the people,” she said.Hasina on Monday requested the Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi to issue her a new passport and identity card, according to a letter seen by HT. The request was made through her London-based lawyers.Hasina has told Reuters she plans to return to surrender before a court. However, Dhaka rejected her request hours after it was submitted, reiterating the demand for her extradition. Relations between New Delhi and Dhaka have experienced significant strain after Hasina fled to India. Dhaka has repeatedly demanded Hasina's extradition, while India has said it is reviewing the requests.Also Read | ‘Don’t need blessings of foreign powers': Hasina on if she wants US, India to pressure Bangladesh for her safe returnBangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who came to power following the February 2026 elections in the country, has skipped major regional events like the BRICS summit in New Delhi, despite diplomatic overtures on both sides.‘If she genuinely wanted to, she would have returned to file an appeal’Bangladesh ICT's chief prosecutor Aminul Islam raised questions on Sheikh Hasina's intentions to return to the country, while saying that she should have come back to file an appeal within the given time period after the publication of the verdict against her.“If she genuinely wanted to return to Bangladesh, she would have come back while the trial was ongoing and faced the case. She would also have returned within 30 days of the publication of the verdict to file an appeal,” The Daily Star cited him as saying.Aminul further said there was no legal scope for issuing any travel documents to someone who had been sentenced to death. He cited the Bangladesh Passport Order, 1973, and said its Articles 6 and 7 restrict passport issuance to convicted persons, particularly those sentenced to at least two years' imprisonment for offences involving moral turpitude, The Daily Star reported. He further said that crimes against humanity fall under this category.Aminul said the request had not been submitted by Hasina herself, and added, “If she genuinely wants to return, she should make a written request to the Indian government seeking her return under the extradition treaty.”Also Read | Yunus aide says Bangladesh student leaders reached out two days before Hasina's ousterHasina's request, Bangladesh government's responseHasina confirmed to HT that her London-based lawyers had written to the Bangladesh high commission, and shared a copy of the letter emailed to the mission on Monday. Hasina's lawyers at Matrix Chambers in London wrote to Preeti Rahman, the acting high commissioner at the Bangladeshi mission.The letter read, “In view of the reported revocation of her existing Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card (NID) by the Interim Government and other authorities, I respectfully request that you take the necessary steps to issue a new Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card for our client.”“Our request is made on the basis of her Bangladeshi nationality in accordance with any obligations arising under the laws of Bangladesh as well as any applicable obligations arising under international human rights instruments,” it said, asking the mission to provide details of formalities and documentation “required to expeditiously process the applications”.Hours later, Bangladesh’s minister of state for foreign affairs Humaiun Kobir said “there is a process” for Hasina's return, and referred to the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty. “She can ask India to hand her over through the extradition treaty,” he said. “Bangladesh does not give passports to terrorists. It asks for them to be handed over,” he added.