NEW DELHI – Prominent Supreme Court lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to extradite former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Bangladeshi government. Jethmalani argues that Hasina did not flee after committing a crime but was forced to leave the country due to a conspiracy. He claims that the events in Bangladesh were not a popular uprising but a U.S.-backed plot.
Mahesh Jethmalani, son of the late lawyer and former Indian Law and Justice Minister Ram Jethmalani, is a renowned lawyer and a key figure in the BJP’s legal cell. On Thursday, he posted a lengthy message on social media platform X regarding Hasina’s extradition. He criticized Mohammad Yunus, the chief advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government, accusing him of running illegal businesses under the guise of Grameen Bank, which Hasina had tried to shut down. Jethmalani claims that Yunus and his American allies, including Hillary Clinton, conspired against Hasina.
Several British and American lawyers have also voiced their support for Hasina on social media. Z.Y. Panna Khan, a prominent lawyer from the Bangladesh Supreme Court and an internationally recognized human rights advocate, has expressed his willingness to represent Hasina. Following his announcement, Khan was implicated in two murder cases, which were later withdrawn due to public protests.
Jethmalani argues that the Bangladeshi government wants to extradite Hasina to prevent her from exposing Yunus’s misdeeds to the world. He believes that the Indian government should reject Bangladesh’s extradition request.