WorldPosted at: Nov 10 2026 6:11PM


No legal scope for issuing passport to Hasina, says Bangladesh ICT chief prosecutor Md Islam

Dhaka, Nov 10 (UNI) There is no legal provision for issuing a passport or travel document to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), Advocate Md Aminul Islam, has said, insisting that her return to the country can only take place under the bilateral extradition treaty with India.
Describing Hasina as a fugitive convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death, Islam said the existing passport laws barred the government from issuing her new travel documents, reports BSS News.
His remarks came as Hasina, who is living in exile in India since August 5, 2024, is reported to have applied for a passport and national identity document to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Monday through a London-based legal firm. Hasina has, in several recent interviews, claimed she will return to her country in December 2026, and is ready to face the consequences.
“Sheikh Hasina is a death-row convict sentenced by the ICT for crimes against humanity. There is no legal scope under existing passport laws to issue a passport to a convicted fugitive. If she wishes to return to Bangladesh, she must do so under the Extradition Treaty,” he told reporters at the tribunal premises.
Referring to Articles 6 and 7 of the Bangladesh Passport Order 1973, the chief prosecutor said the provisions prevented passport authorities from issuing documents to certain convicted individuals and empowered the government to revoke or impound passports in cases involving offences of moral turpitude.
Under Article 6, he said, passport issuance is barred for individuals convicted and sentenced to at least two years' imprisonment within the five years preceding an application.
Article 7 allows the government to revoke or impound passports of individuals convicted of offences involving moral turpitude.
“Crimes against humanity fall squarely under the definition of moral turpitude,” Islam said, adding that Hasina's passport had already been revoked and authorities had no discretion to issue another.
He also argued that constitutional protections concerning freedom of movement and the right to return to Bangladesh could not be invoked by someone who had fled the country before trial and remained a fugitive from justice.
The chief prosecutor also questioned Hasina's stated intention to return from India, where she has been living since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024 following the student-led uprising that toppled her government.
He said India had publicly maintained that she was granted shelter on humanitarian grounds, but claimed there was no evidence that she had formally requested permission from Indian authorities to return to Bangladesh.
“If Sheikh Hasina genuinely intended to return to Bangladesh, she would have officially submitted a written request to the Indian government,” he said.
Islam argued that she could have returned during the trial or surrendered within 30 days of the verdict to pursue an appeal. He dismissed recent public statements about her possible return as a “political stunt”, insisting that repatriation could only be pursued through formal legal channels.
“Her return can only be executed through the formal framework of the Extradition Treaty,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman said that the government will bring Sheikh Hasina back from India through the extradition process, as it sees no legal complications in securing her return under the existing treaty between the two countries.
“Our government believes that we will extradite a convicted accused. The Indian government must allow us to do so, and there should be no problem for the Indian government at this moment, because the person to be extradited herself wants to return,” Zahed said at a press briefing here.
He said Hasina was not merely an accused person but had been convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal, with the trial of the crimes against her already completed.
Bangladesh has repeatedly sought Hasina's extradition from India, while New Delhi has maintained that the request is being examined through established legal procedures.
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