Extradite Sheikh Hasina, says Dhaka: Fallout of her virtual press conference

"Dhaka deeply regrets that, despite concerns conveyed in advance to the Government of India about the likely ramifications of this event for the reset of bilateral ties, the event was allowed to take place," Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday evening after the ousted former prime minister, now in exile, addressed an online press conference. The ministry added that its "repeated requests" for Sheikh Hasina's extradition "have not yet elicited a response."

During the audio-only virtual press conference, her first media interaction since fleeing to India on 5 August 2024 following massive protests and violence in Dhaka, Sheikh Hasina reiterated what she had told Reuters in an interview last month — that she would return to Bangladesh in December, the month in which the country was liberated in 1971. She pointed out that she had survived 19 assassination attempts and had been jailed in the past, while acknowledging that she could be sent to prison or even killed upon her return. She also demanded that the ban on the Awami League be lifted.

There were reports of attempts to set fire to the ancestral house of former Bangladesh cricket team captain Shakib Al Hasan in Magura after Hasan spoke at the press conference from Sri Lanka. While Hasan and Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy were visible on screen to attendees, the exiled former prime minister could only be heard as she joined via an audio link. The Bangladesh government had issued an advisory to the media, warning against providing any coverage of the press conference.

The Bangladesh government appeared even more upset by the statements made by others at the press conference. Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who joined from the United States, said, “Bangladesh is not a failing state; it is a failed state. Even before this event, intelligence agencies went to the headquarters and offices of every major media outlet and newspaper and clearly instructed them not to broadcast it. Not only that, they were also told not to provide any coverage of the event from international media. They are not allowed to share links from foreign media on their websites. Journalists who were seen as sympathetic to our government or opposed to this government have been fired… There is no law and order. There is no Constitution in Bangladesh today.”

Mohammed Ali Siddiqui, secretary general of Bangladesh Human Rights Watch USA, who flew to Delhi and was present at the FCC event, told the media, “I believe Bangladesh is going down because GDP growth has fallen to 2.2 per cent from 6.5 per cent and above earlier. People have lost jobs, especially in the garment industry.

More than 30 lakh people have lost their jobs, particularly women. That is the biggest alarm in the country. People comparing the Yunus government, the present government and Sheikh Hasina’s government are crying for Sheikh Hasina to return and take over the reins of the country.”