Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has no legal option left but to face the death penalty… this is what International Criminal Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Aminul Islam says. Along with this, he also ruled out the possibility of issuing a passport or other travel documents to Sheikh Hasina.
This statement of Mohammad Aminul Islam has come at a time when Sheikh Hasina is preparing to leave India for Bangladesh. A day earlier, he had approached the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi through a London law firm and requested a new passport and national identity card. He also expressed his desire to return to Bangladesh next December and face legal action.
Sheikh Hasina lives in India
However, Islam also ruled out the possibility of issuing a passport or other travel documents to Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday. 79-year-old Hasina left Bangladesh and came to India in August 2024 after the fall of her Awami League government amid massive student-led protests. Since then he lives in India.
Capital punishment in Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia in a case related to crimes against human rights over the brutal crackdown on protesters in Bangladesh. However, Hasina has denied any wrongdoing and questioned the validity of the legal action.
‘There is no option but to suffer punishment’
According to the report, Mohammad Aminul Islam said that the former prime minister is now left with no legal option but to face the death penalty. He said, ‘If Hasina really wanted to return to Bangladesh, she would have returned during the trial itself and faced the case. She could have come to file an appeal again within 30 days of the verdict.
Islam said there is no legal provision to issue a passport to a person sentenced to death. He referred to the Bangladesh Passport Order, 1973. The order prohibits the issuance of travel documents to convicted persons, particularly those sentenced to at least two years in prison for crimes involving moral turpitude.
Questions were also raised on the validity of the application
Islam said that crimes against humanity fall into this category. He also questioned the validity of the said application and said it was not presented by Sheikh Hasina herself. He claimed that there was no legal agreement between Hasina and the law firm that was made public.
He said, ‘If she (Hasina) really wants to return, she should make a written request to the Government of India for her return under the extradition treaty.’ Islam questioned whether elements with vested interests in the Awami League were using Hasina as a trump card to create political instability in Bangladesh. The chief counsel said on Monday that the former prime minister’s passport request was a political gimmick and that he had no real intention to return to Bangladesh to face justice.
‘News about applying for passport is false’
Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zaheed Ur Rehman said that the news that Hasina has applied for a passport is false. He said a law firm had only sent a letter to arrange the issuance of the passport.
“A law firm has sent a letter requesting Sheikh Hasina to arrange for the issuance of a passport,” Rahman said during his weekly press briefing at the secretariat. However, the application for a passport has to be made by the person concerned and Sheikh Hasina herself did not submit any application. So there is no need for this discussion now.
