Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal Mohammad Aminul Islam has said there is no legal scope for issuing a passport or national identity card (NID) to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been sentenced to death by the tribunal.

“It is clear that Sheikh Hasina will not return to Bangladesh. She will be brought back through the legal process,” he said.

The chief prosecutor made the remarks at a press conference on Tuesday (November 10), attended by other prosecutors of the tribunal.

Aminul Islam said Hasina had been convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal and that the Bangladesh government had consequently cancelled her passport.

“The Passport Act clearly states that the passport authority has no jurisdiction to issue a passport to a convicted accused,” he said.

His remarks came amid reports that Hasina had sought a new Bangladeshi passport and NID through a London-based law firm, reportedly to facilitate her return from India.