Supporters of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina have taken to the streets to demand her return to the country from exile in India.
Police also reportedly fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators.
In one neighbourhood in Dhaka, members of the banned student wing of Ms Hasina’s party, the Bangladesh Chhatra League, clashed with security forces
Protesters reportedly set fire to a police vehicle in Gopalganj district in Dhaka and several passenger vehicles, while burning tyres were used to block roads.
A 60-year-old bus driver died from smoke inhalation after his vehicle was set on fire in Faridpur. Demonstrators also briefly blocked the Padma Bridge, which connects Dhaka with southwestern Bangladesh.
The protests began a day after Ms Hasina said she had requested a passport from Bangladesh’s High Commission in New Delhi to facilitate her return. In a recent interview, she said that she wanted to return to Bangladesh by December despite the possibility of arrest or execution.
“If death is my destiny, I would rather die on the soil of my own country, among my own people,” she said in an email interview with Associated Press.
However, Bangladesh’s government has rejected the request and demanded that India extradite her under an existing treaty, describing her as a “fugitive criminal”.
“We have an active extradition treaty with India. We want her handed over,” Humaiun Kobir, Bangladesh’s junior foreign affairs minister, said. He said the country doesn’t issue passports to “convicted and fled terrorists”.
“Should we treat her like an ordinary commercial traveller and tell her to come and visit her in-laws’ residence?” Mr Kobir asked.
Ms Hasina fled to India in August 2024 after weeks of student-led nationwide protests forced her ouster from Bangladesh.
The UN estimates that up to 1,400 people were killed during the crackdown, most by security forces. Her Awami League party was subsequently banned, and she was excluded from the February general election.
Ms Hasina was also sentenced to death in absentia by a Bangladeshi tribunal for crimes against humanity, a verdict she has dismissed as politically motivated.
A Bangladeshi state prosecutor has warned that Ms Hasina would face execution if she returned to the country, saying she had missed the deadline to appeal her death sentence.
International Crimes Tribunal chief prosecutor Md Aminul Islam said on Tuesday that Ms Hasina had exhausted all legal options to challenge her verdict after the 30-day deadline to file an appeal expired.
“If she genuinely wanted to return to Bangladesh, she would have come back while the trial was ongoing and faced the case,” he told reporters.
The Dhaka Tribune reported that prime minister’s information and broadcasting adviser Zahed Ur Rahman said Ms Hasina had not submitted a passport application herself. He said a law firm had written to the authorities requesting arrangements for issuing one, but emphasised that the application must be made by the individual seeking the passport.
Meanwhile, Awami League leaders claim hundreds of their supporters have been killed in mob attacks and dozens more have died in security force custody over the past two years.
Bangladesh authorities, however, deny that the party’s supporters are being systematically targeted.
India’s foreign affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “Extradition of former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina is a legal matter and it will be dealt with accordingly.”
He described the passport requirement for extradition as a “technical issue” and said: “Obviously, for the travel of people, you need a travel document.”
Meanwhile, local media reported that six British politicians have urged the UK government to obtain legally binding assurances from Bangladesh that former Ms Hasina will not face execution, torture or political violence if she returns from India.
They have also called for an independent review of the trial that led to her death sentence, access to legal representation and a fair appeals process.
Daily Waadaa reported that the appeal was sent to British foreign secretary Ed Miliband. Its contents were made public by Conservative MP Bob Blackman in an article published on the political commentary website Comment Central on 4 November.
The signatories include Mr Blackman, former European Parliament member Charles Tannock, and Scottish parliamentarians Martyn Day, Paul McLennan and Alan Brown, along with UK MP Seamus Logan.
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