The Awami League party has announced nationwide protests against India’s extradition request for former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the death sentence handed down in absentia, calling it a political conspiracy.

Bangladesh has formally asked India to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for her actions during last year’s crackdown on student protests. Interim Foreign Minister Towhid Hussain confirmed the request, a first in bilateral history. Former Indian ambassador Pinak Chakravarti suggested that Indian courts may ultimately decide on the extradition, raising significant legal and diplomatic questions for New Delhi.

Hasina’s party announces nationwide protests

Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party on Tuesday announced a nationwide protest and resistance march until November 30th to protest the death penalty. Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and then-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal were sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal on November 17th for “crimes against humanity” committed during widespread protests against her government in July last year.

In its verdict following a months-long trial, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) described the 78-year-old Awami League leader as the “mastermind and key architect” of the violent repression that left hundreds of protesters dead. Hasina is currently in India, while Kamal is also believed to be hiding in India.

In a post on its official social media account, the Awami League alleged that the tribunal’s decision was part of a political conspiracy by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus to keep Hasina and her party out of the elections scheduled for February next year. The Awami League declared the ICT Tribunal illegal, rejected its decision, and announced protests and protest marches in all districts and sub-districts until November 30, demanding Yunus’ resignation.