This special report features Mohammad Arafat, a close aide to Sheikh Hasina and former Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, reacting to a death penalty verdict against the ousted prime minister. Arafat asserts the trial was a sham, orchestrated by what he calls an ‘illegal and unconstitutional’ government backed by extremists. According to Arafat, ‘this outcome was pre-decided and it was all pre-determined’. He dismisses the government’s calls for India to extradite Sheikh Hasina and states that the Awami League, with international support, will work through a peaceful political process to restore democracy and ‘get the country back’.
