Dhaka, July 13 -- The government on Monday reiterated that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina would be taken into custody if she surrenders, as efforts continue to secure her extradition to Bangladesh.

"If she surrenders, the existing law will be followed. She will have to go to jail. The law will take its own course," State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Shama Obaed said Hasina's recent remarks from abroad appear intended to encourage Awami League leaders and activists who have either gone into hiding or fled the country. "I see no other reason," she said.

She said Hasina has already been convicted and that the decision on where and when she surrenders rests entirely ...