Extradition Request for Sheikh Hasina | 25 Dec 2024
Recently, India had received a note verbale (unsigned diplomatic correspondence) from Bangladesh to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
- Sheikh Hasina is accused of mass killings during student protests for which Bangladesh’s interim government wants her to face trial.
- Hasina could be brought back under the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty of 2013, amended in 2016.
- Exceptions to the treaty:
- Article 6: Extradition may be refused if the offence of which it is requested is an offence of a political character.
- Article 8: A person may not be extradited if the accusation against him or her is not “made in good faith in the interests of justice”.
- 2016 Amendments: Objective was to simplify and hasten the extradition process
- Article 10 (3): It removed the need for evidence from the country requesting extradition.
- Competent Court: Only an arrest warrant from a competent court is enough for extradition. Hasina faces multiple arrest warrants in Bangladesh.
- The treaty enabled India to extradite ULFA leader Anup Chetia in 2015.
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