By The South Asia Times

DHAKA - Bangladesh strongly condemned India and issued a strongly worded protest on Wednesday against New Delhi for allowing exiled convicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to address the media from New Delhi, describing the event as an "affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh" and warning that it could severely damage efforts to reset bilateral relations.

In an official statement, Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed outrage that Hasina—whom it labeled an "absconding convicted genocider"—was permitted to engage in a live media interaction where she and her associates launched "venomous vitriol against the State of Bangladesh and her people".

The ministry said Dhaka had conveyed concerns to New Delhi in advance about the event's likely impact on the bilateral relationship, yet the programme was allowed to proceed.

"The denial of facts established by the United Nations, including gruesome killing of the innocent civilians including minor children, during July-August 2024 by the fascist regime, stands as a futile attempt by the absconding convicted mass murderer Hasina and her criminal cohort to reverse the tide of history," the statement said.

- Timing Called 'Insult' to Revolution Martyrs

The event fell on the second anniversary of the July Revolution that ousted Hasina's government in 2024. The ministry called her appearance "a grievous insult to the martyrs of the July Revolution" and accused Hasina of attempting to deny United Nations-established facts regarding civilian deaths during the 2024 protests.

"Upholding the spirit of the July Revolution, our people have firmly resolved that our nation will never again go back to the dark days of fascism and that Bangladesh will never be a client State. Convicted mass murderer Hasina and her mafia enterprise will never have a place in the polity of Bangladesh," the statement declared.

The ministry reiterated Bangladesh's desire for a "constructive, mutually beneficial, and forward-looking relationship with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and national dignity". However, it expressed disappointment that repeated requests for Hasina's extradition under the 2013 Bangladesh-India Extradition Treaty have not received a response. Last November, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity.

"On the contrary, allowing her the opportunity to openly interact with the media under any pretext is deeply hurtful to our people's sentiment and detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India," the ministry said .

Earlier on Wednesday, Hasina addressed her first virtual press briefing from New Delhi since fleeing Bangladesh, announcing she intends to return to Bangladesh in December despite facing a death sentence. "Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people," she said. "I want to go back in December". While her son Joy, in his address to the event, endorsed the killing of 1,400 Bangladeshis during the uprising. 

Relations between the neighbors have remained strained since Hasina's ouster in 2024, though both sides had recently signaled willingness to improve ties under Dhaka's new government. The Bangladesh government had warned India ahead of the event that political activities from Indian soil could undermine positive momentum in bilateral relations. India's Foreign Ministry earlier stated it had "no involvement whatsoever" in the event, which was organized by a private media entity, and did not endorse any views expressed