'Unelected, Illegal Regime's Sham Of A Verdict': Sheikh Hasina's Son To NDTV

Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina's son has called her trial and sentencing a "sham" under an "unelected regime". Sajeeb Wazed, who is in Washington DC, told NDTV on phone the very short 140-day trial of the former prime minister was pre-decided at a time when the country did not have a parliament.

"This is an unelected regime. The government itself is completely unconstitutional, unelected and illegal," Wazed told NDTV.

Though he clarified India has not given any assurance on protecting his mother, he expressed confidence that considering what has happened in Bangladesh, it "would be illegal of India to comply with such an illegal [extradition] request".

"An important trial was conducted and finished within something like 140 days from start to finish, which is almost impossible. They have to amend laws to enable these trials to be fast-tracked, which only parliament can do. And right now there is no parliament," he said.

A special tribunal in Bangladesh for "crimes against humanity" on Monday sentenced Hasina to death over her Awami League government's crackdown on student-led protests last year. The tribunal described the 78-year-old Awami League leader as the "mastermind and principal architect" of the violence that killed hundreds of protesters.

It also sentenced former Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death on similar charges.

His mother's message to the world, Wazed said, would be that this verdict does not matter as it is completely illegal.

"When the law of law returns to Bangladesh, this will not be sustainable. It will all get thrown out. And we are going to fight for the time being. We are the oldest and largest political party in Bangladesh. We are going to fight for our rights and for democracy," he told NDTV.

Hasina has been living in India since she left Bangladesh in August 2024 amid the protests. India and Bangladesh signed an extradition treaty in 2013, and Bangladesh has now asked for her to be sent back.

Wazed said he is not worried about her physical safety at the moment because the request to India "comes from an illegal, unelected and undemocratic government."

"The trial itself was highly illegal, so why would New Delhi agree to such an illegal request? That will never happen," the former prime minister's son told NDTV.

He held Bangladesh's US-returned administrator Muhammad Yunus responsible for rising attacks on minorities - Hindus and Christians - in his country.

"Not only are they failing to stop the attacks; they are actually participating in them. The current regime is backed by the Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamists. And that is why in these upcoming elections they have banned not just the Awami League, but all secular and progressive parties. They are doing it to set up an Islamic state in Bangladesh," Wazed told NDTV.

The Awami League, Bangladesh's oldest political party, is not in exile, Wazed said, adding millions of people support them as seen during a lockdown call by the party in the last few days.

"The lockdowns have been very successful and we are going to fight. Our people are in Bangladesh, we are still going to fight, whether anyone helps or not," he said.

In her reaction to the verdict by what she called a "kangaroo court", Hasina in a statement said the judgment has been made by a "rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate."

She said she was not afraid to face her "accusers" in a proper tribunal where the evidence can be weighed and tested fairly.