The United Kingdom will consider any extradition request from Bangladesh in line with the terms of its 2003 Extradition Act.
“The UK will consider any extradition request received from Bangladesh within the terms of the Extradition Act of 2003,” reads an email from the British High Commission in Dhaka on Wednesday.
It, however, did not comment on the extradition request on BNP leader Tarique Rahman, who has been staying in London since 2008.
“The UK Government does not comment on individual immigration cases,” says the UK mission.
The extradition of BNP leader Tarique came to light when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday publicly said the governments were discussing the issues and he would be brought back to Bangladesh.
Hasina is now in the UK in official visit to attend a Commonwealth summit.
A government official asking not to be named said, “British foreign minister came to Dhaka in February and the matter of Tarique was discussed in his meetings with the political leadership.”
Boris Johnson responded by asking Dhaka to send a formal extradition request, said the official.
In mid March, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and his British counterpart had the second strategic dialogue in London and they agreed that both the countries would consider extradition request, if made, according to the official.
The joint statement issued after that meeting says “The UK reaffirmed its commitment to assisting Bangladeshi investigative, prosecuting, and judicial authorities in combating crime and ensuring that those accused of criminal offences are not able to escape justice by crossing national borders. Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation further in this important area, including Mutual Legal Assistance and extradition requests.”

The official said, “Bangladesh made a formal request in 2015 but it did not get any response from the British government.”
Meanwhile, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Alison Blake recently said extradition was a legal issue and London wanted to keep it outside politics.
“It is something that we try to keep out of the political arena and judge it a judicial and legal process, not a political one,” she said while speaking to the media in Dhaka.
Dhaka and London don’t have any extradition treaty and it is an area that is taken very seriously, she said.
“That comes under the purview of the home secretary and in making any determination, she [the home secretary] takes advice including from the foreign office, but also independent assesses about all the circumstances. This is sort of mutual assistance goes on countries across the world,” she added.
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