Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina will not be able to seek condonation of delay in challenging her trial before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 by claiming she was unaware of the proceedings, a prosecutor said today.

“She cannot take the plea that she was unaware of the trial proceedings,” Prosecutor Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim told reporters at the tribunal.

He said Hasina and the other accused had publicly discussed the case and defended themselves through the media while staying abroad.

“So, when they come before the tribunal, they will not get the opportunity to say that they did not know about the proceedings,” Tamim said.

Hasina was convicted and sentenced to death by the tribunal on November 17 last year for crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising in 2024. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also sentenced to death in the same case.

The prosecutor said the prosecution would welcome Hasina’s return to Bangladesh and urged her to appear before the tribunal and present her defence.

Tamim also said India could legally extradite a person wanted by a Bangladeshi court under the extradition treaty between the two countries if an arrest warrant or conviction warrant had been issued against them.

Hasina, who has been staying in India since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024, faces several other cases involving allegations of crimes against humanity. Her Awami League party’s activities have also been banned in Bangladesh.