Bangladesh’s chief prosecutor has said that ousted PM Sheikh Hasina has no legal option but to face her death sentence, rejecting reports of a passport request. The 79-year-old Awami League chief plans to return to Bangladesh from India in December.
Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has no legal recourse left but to face execution of her death sentence, the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICC) chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam said on Tuesday, ruling out the possibility of issuing her a passport or any other travel document.
His remarks came amid reports that a London-based legal chamber had approached the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi, seeking a fresh passport and national identity card for Hasina. The 79-year-old Awami League chief has expressed her intention to return to Bangladesh in December and face legal proceedings. She has been living in exile in India since she fled Bangladesh in August 2024 following a deadly student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule.
“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,” Islam told journalists, according to The Daily Star.
The chief prosecutor maintained there was no legal provision to issue a passport to someone sentenced to death. Citing the Bangladesh Passport Order, 1973, he said travel documents could be denied to individuals convicted of serious offences, including those involving moral turpitude and carrying prison terms of two years or more. He added that crimes against humanity fell within this category.
Islam also questioned Hasina’s passport request, pointing out that it had not been submitted directly by the former Prime Minister. He claimed there was no publicly disclosed legal agreement between the Awami League chief and the London-based law firm handling the matter.
“If she genuinely wants to return, she should make a written request to the Indian government seeking her return under the extradition treaty,” he said.
He further alleged that certain vested interests within the Awami League could be using Hasina as a “trump card” to create political instability in Bangladesh.
BANGLADESH QUESTIONS HASINA’S PASSPORT REQUEST
The remarks came a day after Islam described Hasina’s reported passport request as a “political stunt”, claiming she had no genuine intention of returning to Bangladesh to face justice.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman clarified that Hasina had not formally applied for a passport. He said a law firm had merely written to the authorities seeking arrangements for issuing the document.
“A passport application must be made by the individual concerned, and Sheikh Hasina herself has not submitted any application. So, this discussion is no longer necessary,” he told reporters at a weekly press briefing at the Secretariat, The Daily Star reported.
Hasina’s legal representatives at London-based Matrix Chambers had approached the Bangladesh mission seeking expedited issuance of a passport and national identity card. Her existing documents were revoked by the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.
Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the government was examining the authenticity and legal grounds of the communication. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Law were reviewing whether the request had been made through the proper procedure and whether Hasina was legally entitled to receive the documents.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir also dismissed the reported request, calling it “utterly ridiculous”. He reiterated that Bangladesh would pursue Hasina’s return through the existing extradition treaty with India.
“She has been sentenced to death. Bangladesh does not issue passports to terrorists,” he told reporters.
WHY WAS SHEIKH HASINA SENTENCED TO DEATH?
Hasina has been living in India since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024, following a student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule.
The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia in a crimes against humanity case over the deadly crackdown on protesters during the 2024 uprising. The United Nations estimated that as many as 1,400 people were killed during the violence.
Hasina has denied the charges and questioned the legitimacy of the proceedings against her.
In February, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, won the parliamentary elections and formed the government, replacing the interim administration led by Yunus.
The Rahman government has maintained that Hasina must be brought back to face the sentence. Bangladesh has repeatedly sought her extradition from India under a bilateral treaty.
