The Conversation report: Prisoner exchange agreement or diplomacy, which way Hasina’s extradition?
Last Updated on September 7, 2024 9:45 am
On August 5, Sheikh Hasina left the country and fled to India after being ousted in the face of intense mass protests by students. The former Prime Minister of Bangladesh is currently in India. Top level political parties including Bangladesh Nationalist Party BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami are unhappy with Hasina’s position in India.
Not only that, the top leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement are also talking about putting Hasina on trial. So far more than hundred cases have been filed against Hasina. At the same time, the International Criminal Tribunal is investigating the allegations of genocide.
In this situation, pressure is increasing on the interim government to return Hasina from India. Every press briefing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raises questions about Hasina’s position in India.
In such a situation yesterday, in an interview with the Indian news agency PTI, the chief advisor of the interim government said that Hasina should be brought back from India to face trial. Muhammad Yunus. At the same time, sitting in the safe house in Delhi, Hasina expressed her displeasure with all the instructions she was sending.
Now the question is, will India send Hasina back if the interim government wants? Many people think that Hasina can be brought back through the Bangladesh-India prisoner exchange agreement.
However, “The Conversation” says in a report on Thursday, that there is one thing mentioned in the prisoner exchange agreement. That is, no one can be extradited if there is a case based on political considerations. And using this issue, India can refuse to return Hasina.
Again, it is mentioned in this agreement that the crimes of attempted murder, murder, kidnapping and incitement to murder will not be considered as political cases. Almost all the cases that have been filed against Hasina have fallen in this category.
Again, if India gives Hasina the status of political asylum seeker, then it will be difficult to return Hasina. That’s because India will have no obligation to return any political asylum seeker. However, the Hasina issue has become a source of discomfort for India to strengthen the new relationship between Dhaka-Delhi.
‘The Conversation’ in their report puts more emphasis on diplomacy than on prisoner exchange deals. According to them, it is possible to bring someone back only through dialogue.