Dhaka: In a major setback for former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on August 5, a local court has issued an arrest warrant on charges of crimes against humanity. The court noted her involvement during mass student protests in July and August of this year. The warrant was issued on Thursday by the International Crimes Tribunal in its first hearing since being reorganised by the transitional government led by Muhammad Yunus.
According to Daily Star, Supreme Court lawyer Gazi MH Tamim filed the complaint on behalf of Mufti Harun Ijahar Chowdhury, joint secretary general (education and law) of Hefajat-e-Islam. "We registered the complaint, and thus the investigation has started from today," said Ataur Rahman, deputy director (admin) of the investigation agency.
Rahman said the tribunal will seek arrest warrants against the accused once the preliminary investigation is completed and it visits the place of occurrence. This is the fourth complaint filed with the International Crimes Tribunal against the 76-year-old former premier, who fled to India after massive protests against her government over a controversial job quota system.
Mass murder case against Sheikh Hasina
The other accused include Awami League general secretary and former road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, former minister Reshed Khan Menon, former mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, ex-advisor to prime minister Salman F Rahman, former security advisor to the prime minister Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Haque, editor of ABnews24.com Subhash Singha Roy and former army chief Aziz Ahmed.
Over 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was appointed after the fall of Hasina's Awami League government.
On Sunday, an application was filed with a court in Bangladesh on Sunday to register a case against Hasina and 33 others, accusing them of carrying out a mass murder by indiscriminately firing on a rally organised in 2013 by Hefazat-e-Islam. The application accused them of the "mass murder" during the rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel on May 5, 2013.
BNP calls on India to extradite Sheikh Hasina
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal last week started an investigation against the former premier and nine others on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity that took place from July 15 to August 5 during students' mass movement against her government, which is ironic as the tribunal was set up during Hasina's reign to investigate the crimes against humanity in the 1971 Liberation War.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has called on India to extradite Hasina in order to face trial of "plotting to thwart the country's revolution". "It is our call to you that you should hand her over to the government of Bangladesh in a legal way. The people of this country have given the decision for her trial. Let her face that trial," said BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alangir.
He also said India is seemingly not keeping its commitment towards democracy by providing shelter to her. "Staying there, she has started various plots to thwart the revolution that happened in Bangladesh," he alleged.
(With inputs from agency)
