DHAKA: Bangladesh on Sunday expressed shock and surprise after fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was allowed to deliver a public address in New Delhi, officials said.
Hasina, 78, fled to neighbouring India in August 2024 following a student-led uprising that ended her 15-year iron-fisted rule. She made her first public speech since leaving Bangladesh via an audio address to a packed press club in Delhi on Friday.
A Dhaka court had found Hasina guilty in absentia in November of incitement, issuing an order to kill, and failing to prevent atrocities. She was sentenced to death.
“The government and the people of Bangladesh are surprised and shocked,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Allowing the event to take place in the Indian capital and letting mass murderer Hasina openly deliver her hate speech constitutes a clear affront to the people and government of Bangladesh,” it added. The ministry warned that permitting the speech set “a dangerous precedent” that could seriously affect bilateral relations.
Bangladesh is scheduled to hold elections on February 12 after a period of political turmoil following the overthrow of Hasina’s autocratic government. In her address, Hasina claimed that “Bangladesh will never experience free and fair elections” under interim leader Muhammad Yunus.
The speech, broadcast online, was viewed by over 100,000 people. Bangladesh has formally requested India to extradite Hasina, but New Delhi has not yet responded.
