DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladesh has once again asked India to hand over former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia on Nov. 17 for ordering a crackdown on a student-led uprising last year, an adviser said on Sunday.

Bangladesh sent an official letter to India on Friday, seeking the return of Hasina, 78, and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who was also sentenced to death, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain told reporters in the capital Dhaka.

The International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka had tried Hasina for charges related to crimes against humanity. She fled to India on Aug. 5, 2024 at the height of a mass uprising against her government, which the UN says led to the deaths of over 1,400 people.

Law adviser Asif Nazrul said the interim government is also considering approaching the International Criminal Court to bring Hasina back.

The Foreign Ministry, after the verdict, said keeping Hasina is a “grave act of unfriendly behavior and a travesty of justice for any other country to grant asylum to these individuals convicted of crimes against humanity.”

Bangladesh also wrote for Hasina’s return last December. India, however, has yet to respond to the extradition requests. The two countries signed a mutual extradition treaty in 2013.

Bangladesh will hold its first elections since the protests in February 2026. The former premier’s party, Awami League, meanwhile, remains barred from any political activity.