No scope for Hasina’s ‘passport drama,’ State Minister outlines legal procedure to return
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir has described ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's application for a new passport and National Identity Card (NID) to return to Bangladesh as "utterly ridiculous."
He said Bangladesh does not issue passports to criminals. Instead, the government wants to bring them back under the extradition treaty and enforce their sentences.
Humaiun Kobir said, "She (Sheikh Hasina) has fled. There is no scope for staging a drama of returning back with a new passport. If she genuinely wishes to return to the country, there is a specific legal process for that.”
“There is an extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India. Let her ask the Indian government to hand her over to Bangladesh under that treaty. Let her come, surrender before the court and serve her sentence," he said.
He made these remarks in response to questions from journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday afternoon. UK-based legal consultancy firm Matrix Chambers submitted an application via email to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi requesting a passport and NID for Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladesh Mission in Delhi has forwarded the email to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, diplomatic sources in Dhaka said there is no way to confirm whether the application has been made on behalf of Sheikh Hasina, as the email sent by the legal firm contained no authorization document or credentials signed by her.
Typically, when an organisation applies on behalf of an individual, an explicit authorisation from that person is required.
The state minister described the foundation of the UK law firm’s application as legally, ethically and morally weak. He said, “Any law firm should be aware of who their client actually is. Their client is someone who fled Bangladesh after killing more than 1,500 people.
The state minister said the firm should observe some ethical and professional boundaries instead of pursuing bloodstained money looted from the people of Bangladesh.
He noted that such unethical representation on behalf of an absconding criminal would only bring them embarrassment in the international arena.
Humaiun Kobir further said that no ordinary passport application would be effective in the case of fugitive criminals. Sheikh Hasina will be brought back to Bangladesh through legal and diplomatic processes under the extradition treaty and made to face trial, he said.
Sheikh Hasina has sought a new passport and NID to return to Bangladesh, according to a report published by Reuters, which cited a letter obtained by the news agency.
Reuters report added that this is the first such formal application made by Sheikh Hasina since she fled to India on 5 August, 2024 following the student-led mass uprising.
This move by Sheikh Hasina is seen as the clearest signal yet of her plans to return to Bangladesh. She reportedly plans to return in December.