"Sheikh Hasina can go to court to fight extradition request from Bangladesh interim govt: Ex Indian envoy to Bangladesh - World News Network

New Delhi [India], December 23 (ANI): Mahesh Sachdev, former Ambassador to Bangladesh on Monday highlighted that Sheikh Hasina, ex-Prime Minister of Bangladesh can go to courts to fight extradition requests from Bangladesh’s interim government.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Sachdev said that just like the extradition requests of India were rejected by other European countries on various caveats, Haina too can say that she does not trust her government and that she is likely to be treated unfairly. Sachdev added that the extradition treaty rules out extraditions in political consideration.
“The extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh has various caveats which rule out extradition in case of political issues. But criminal issues are excluded from the political considerations. So all that is there and these caveats can be used. Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina can go to the court to fight extradition request saying she’s likely to be treated unfairly. India can cite such instances as well that we not sure whether she would be treated fairly and by the justice system. You recall they were extradition of terrorists from Europe to India which were held back because Indian judicial system, Indian jails were not regarded as up to the standard for Europe. Mallya has used these arguments also to fight his extradition. So all these things are possibly going to pan out and it may be a rather protracted sort of affair to come with,” he said.
The extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh initially signed in 2013 and amended in 2016, was a strategic measure aimed at addressing the issue of insurgency and terrorism along the shared borders of the two nations. However, the extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh allows for refusal of extradition if the offence is of a political nature.
“The authorities have today mentioned publicly that a note verbale has been given to India on this particular request saying that she is needed in Bangladesh to face justice without specifying what exact charges are there. We have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, terms of that would be I suppose applicable. At the same time two or three communications are in order,” he said.
Sachdev said that note verbale is the lowest level of communication and is indicative of the priority attached.
“Firstly, note verbale is the lowest level of communication between the two governments. It can be indicative of the priority attached. It’s just to record something. If you want a visa note that’s also a note verbale, an ordinary person going for a cultural tournament or something like that also requires a note verbale to be submitted to the other side so that he’s looked after. There can be higher level ad memoirs etc. if the seriousness is to be indicated,” he said.
The political turmoil in Bangladesh has brought former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the forefront, not just in her homeland but also in India. Sachdev said that the case of Sheikh Hasina was flip flop because the extradition request was official and so was the request for asylum for her.
“I would imagine that authorities in India and Bangladesh are in touch on this issue, even before our Foreign Secretary went to Bangladesh earlier this month, and would have discussed these possibilities. Bangladesh’s demand for extradition of Sheikh Hasina is not new. It was, it has been periodically mentioned since she left in August. But then she left in August and was received in India based on an official request by the Bangladesh government at that time — Saying, she’s coming, please receive her. So there is a bit of a flip-flop there. I think there would be people in Bangladeshi authorities who would not heart of their hearts, expect her to be extradited quickly because this would cause all sorts of mayhem in Bangladeshi politics. It may become a focus and Sheikh Hasina may have some revelations which may embarrass the government in Bangladesh. So I think bilateral relations are going to be impacted, but then all these are expected moves. Like a sumo wrestler, you do something and the opponent does something else and people stay within the ring. And that is what is likely to happen. Of course, it will be used for domestic propaganda in Bangladesh, saying we asked, and they have not yet complied. So it’s yet another blot on India, and yet another attempt to externalize Bangladesh’s troubles at India’s door,” he said.
Sachdev said that it cannot be decided for how long she will be here in India, as the asylum requests are decided on a political basis and there are no set rules.
“I think her request is for asylum. Asylum requests are usually decided on a political basis. There are no set rules. There would be no deadline to my knowledge on such cases. And it is known even earlier that India had given her temporary asylum and suggested that she move on from there. She had requested the US, she had requested UK and other countries, and none of them accepted her plea to be allowed to settle in those countries. So she’s here. Now that she’s here, it will be impolitic for us to expel her,” he said.
Sachdev further gave examples of political leaders who have been given asylum before- such as the deposed Syrian dictator, who is now in asylum in Russia.
“Only earlier this month, the Syrian dictator has been given asylum by Russia without questions being asked and without his extradition being demanded. There are various precedents of this kind and they have also mentioned that they are going to reach out to the International Criminal Court to have a warrant issued against Sheikh Hasina. Well, that’s also a possibility but then the warrants have been issued against Netanyahu and Putin and they are still outstanding and they are conducting their jobs as they were. So I think the situation is a bit flex-full and it would depend on a lot of things happening below the surface, below the radar. That would eventually decide which way does it go,” he said. (ANI)

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