India can’t protect individual accused of crimes against humanity: Shafiqul Alam

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Wednesday urged India to act with conscience and moral clarity, stressing that India can no longer protect an individual who stands credibly accused of crimes against humanity.

"We now urge the Republic of India to act with conscience and moral clarity. For too long, India has refused to comply with Bangladesh’s lawful request for the extradition of (Ex-PM) Sheikh Hasina," he said.

That position, Alam said, is no longer tenable and no regional friendship, no strategic calculus; no political legacy can excuse or obscure the deliberate murder of civilians.

In a post from his verified Facebook account, the Press Secretary said when a global institution like the BBC commits its full investigative resources to uncovering crimes in Bangladesh, the world must take notice of it.

The BBC Eye Investigations unit has now confirmed former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s direct role in "state-sanctioned" murder, Alam said.

The revelations published on Tuesday, including damning audio evidence and verified footage from the 2024 student protest crackdown, must serve as the final straw, the last nail in the coffin of Sheikh Hasina’s defence, said the Press Secretary.

"It is one thing for ordinary people to allege that she ordered the mass murder of her own citizens," Alam said, adding that it is quite another for a respected international media institution like the BBC, with significant global credibility, resources and forensic expertise, to independently investigate and corroborate these allegations in devastating detail.

"The leaked recording, authenticated by world-class audio forensics experts, confirms what so many Bangladeshis have always known in their hearts: that the violence was not spontaneous, nor accidental. It was authorised," the Press Secretary mentioned.

The evidence is no longer anecdotal or partisan, he said. "It is forensic, verified, and impossible to ignore."

The United Kingdom, whose own media institutions have laid bare these atrocities, has long been a friend to both Bangladesh and India, the Press Secretary mentioned.

'We ask that India recognise the weight of this moment and honour the shared values of justice, the rule of law and democratic integrity," Alam said.

The people of Bangladesh deserve justice and the victims deserve closure, he said, adding that the world deserves to see that no leader, no matter how powerful, is above the law.