Bangladesh’s pursuit of the death penalty against the country’s ousted former leader, Sheikh Hasina, has emerged as a key obstacle in efforts to bring her back from exile in India, with analysts saying the demand is likely to stall extradition talks and may even strengthen her bid for political asylum.
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The case centres on Hasina’s alleged role in a brutal crackdown on student protesters that marked the end of her 15-year rule – violence that a United Nations report said claimed 1,400 lives, making it the deadliest unrest in the country since the 1971 war of independence.
At a hearing last week before the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal, Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam argued that Hasina deserved “1,400 death sentences”.
“Since that is not humanly possible, we demand at least one,” he said, as quoted by Bangladesh’s Daily Sun newspaper.
“[Hasina’s] goal was to cling to power permanently, for herself and her family,” Islam told the court, noting that the former leader had turned into a “hardened criminal” and “shows no remorse for the brutality she has committed”.
Hasina has defied court orders to return from India, where she fled last year, to face charges over ordering the deadly crackdown on protesters.