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Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is staying in India after being sentenced to death for crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 uprising, has applied for a new passport and national identity card (NID) to facilitate her return to Bangladesh.
On her behalf, London-based law firm Matrix Chambers sent a letter to Preeti Rahman, Bangladesh’s Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi, requesting the issuance of new travel and identity documents.
Sara Bangla has obtained a copy of the letter, dated Monday, November 9.
In the letter, lawyer Steven Powles wrote: “I am writing in my capacity as legal adviser to Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, former prime minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.”
Hasina had earlier announced plans to return to Bangladesh in December. She told Reuters that she wanted to return to face the court.
Reuters described the passport application as her clearest move yet towards implementing her plan to return, more than two years after a deadly mass uprising ended her long rule.
This is reportedly the first known formal communication of its kind from Hasina since she left Bangladesh on August 5, 2024.
In the letter to the Acting High Commissioner, Powles referred to reports that the interim government and other authorities had cancelled Hasina’s existing Bangladeshi passport and NID.
“Taking into account reports that her existing Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card (NID) have been cancelled by the interim government and other authorities, I respectfully request that you take the necessary steps to issue our client with a new Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card,” the letter said.
He added that the request was based on Hasina’s Bangladeshi citizenship and was consistent with applicable obligations under Bangladeshi law and international human rights treaties.
Powles also requested the High Commission to review the matter and inform the legal team of the necessary formalities and documents required to process the applications promptly.
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources in New Delhi told Prothom Alo that the Bangladesh High Commission confirmed receiving the email on Monday morning. It subsequently informed the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka to seek instructions on the next course of action.
International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam, meanwhile, described the move as a “political stunt” by Sheikh Hasina.
