New Delhi, Nov. 18 -- A Bangladeshi tribunal on Monday gave the death sentence to former premier Sheikh Hasina after convicting her of crimes against humanity while cracking down on student-led protests last year, prompting the foreign ministry in Dhaka to demand that New Delhi hand her over under a bilateral extradition treaty. The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), a domestic war crimes court set up by the current regime, also gave her a separate sentence of imprisonment until death after convicting her of inciting, facilitating, being complicit in, and failing to prevent crimes against civilians by law enforcement and armed cadres of the Awami League party. Hasina reacted to the death sentence by saying it was announced by a "rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government" and aimed at nullifying the Awami League as a political force. Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus in a statement said the conviction underscored that "no one, regardless of power, is above the law". Hours after the verdict, Bangladesh's foreign ministry demanded that Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who too was given the death sentence, should be immediately handed over by India under a bilateral extradition treaty. The Indian side, in its first formal response, was non-committal on the demand for handing over Hasina and said New Delhi will engage with all stakeholders in Dhaka for peace, democracy and stability in Bangladesh. The chairman of the ICT, Justice Mohammad Golam Mortuza Mozumder, read out the verdicts against 78-year-old Hasina, who has lived in self-exile in India since she fled Dhaka in August last year, at the conclusion of proceedings that lasted more than two hours. People gathered in the court applauded the sentence before judges asked them to maintain decorum. "We call on the Indian government to immediately hand over these two convicted individuals to the Bangladeshi authorities,"Bangladesh's foreign ministry said in a statement in Bengali. "This is also a duty for India, as per the extradition treaty existing between the two countries." The ministry added, "It would be an extremely unfriendly act and a contempt for justice if any other country were to grant asylum to these individuals convicted of crimes against humanity." Soon after, the external affairs ministry noted the ICT's verdict concerning Hasina and said: "As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end." Kamal, who fled Bangladesh after the fall of Hasina's government, is believed to be in Kolkata. Hasina was tried along with two of her top aides - former home minister Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun - for crimes against humanity for their role in handling the protests last year. Kamal too fled Bangladesh and was tried in absentia. Al-Mamun, who turned a witness for the prosecution, was given a five-year prison term after being convicted of charges liable to be punished with the death sentence, the tribunal said. The judges also directed authorities to confiscate the properties of Hasina and Kamal. "Such atrocities must be brought to an end at any cost. Justice must not fail," Justice Mozumder said before announcing the verdicts....