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Riva Ganguly Das, Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh, reacted to the death sentence awarded to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for "crimes against Humanity" and said that "nothing was surprising" about the verdict because the "whole process has been designed" in such a way.
"I think there was no surprise in the verdict which was given. It was quite expected that this was the way the verdict would go because the whole process has been designed in such a way, and given the political atmosphere in Bangladesh, I think there's nothing surprising about the verdict. In fact, if she had not been given this verdict, we would have been a little surprised..." She also spoke on India's position with respect to the verdict and noted the "precarious situation" in the wake of incidents of violence reported in the last few days. "We have to watch the situation very carefully. You would have seen that since the verdict was announced, two bulldozers moved in the direction of 32 Dhanmondi, which was where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated... Who are these people who are bringing these bulldozers and trying to flatten 32 Dhanmondi... The situation is extremely precarious because for the last few days, many incidents of violence, arson have been reported. I think under this situation, we have to watch very carefully what's happening in our neighbourhood." Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday appealed to India to immediately extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the country's former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal after both of them were sentenced to death for crimes against humanity related to a crackdown on mass protests last year. As per a translation of the statement by the Ministry, New Delhi was obliged to do so under an extradition treaty. "In today's verdict by the International Crimes Tribunal, absconding accused Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal have been convicted and sentenced for the Jallahi (executioner) murder. If any country gives shelter to these individuals convicted of crimes against humanity, it will be an extremely intolerant act and a disregard for justice. We appeal to the Government of India to immediately hand over these two convicted individuals to the Bangladesh authorities. According to the extradition treaty existing between the two countries, this is also an obligatory duty for India." (ANI)
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