'India remains committed to best interests of Bangladesh': MEA responds to tribunal's ruling on Sheikh Hasina

On Monday (Nov 17), Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death. The decision comes after finding Hasina guilty of "crimes against humanity”. The tribunal noted that she ordered killings and also mentioned that she incited violence during the uprising in the country in 2024. She fled the country and reportedly stays in Indian capital New Delhi ever since. And in response to this, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “India has noted the verdict announced by the "International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh" concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”

The statement added, “As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end.”

Sajeeb Wazed, the son of Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has denounced the death sentence handed down to his mother as a “complete sham” orchestrated by an “unelected and undemocratic regime.” Speaking to WION's Sidhant Sibal, Wazed, who lives in the United States, said the trial was rushed in under 100 days after laws were amended without parliamentary approval.

Sheikh Hasina's son's reaction to the ruling:

• The verdict is a sham. You have a regime that is completely unelected and undemocratic. They had to amend the laws to fast-track this trial, which you cannot amend the law without parliament. A trial of this historic nature was conducted within 100 days; that's impossible. My mother wasn't even allowed to select her own attorneys. Our attorneys were barred from going to the courts at all, and she was defended by a public defender. So this was a sham trial. We knew what the verdict was going to be. Everybody knew what the verdict was going to be.

• Right now, there is no rule of law in Bangladesh. This regime is doing everything completely legally, and the courts are rubber-stamping everything. So right now, there's no point in trying to do anything. There's no legal Avenue. But in the future, when the rule of law returns, because everything in this trial was done so illegally, it will all get thrown out.