Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued an arrest warrant against ousted former Prime Minister and 10 others, including her former Defence Adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique and former IGP Benazir Ahmed over alleged enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
The tribunal, chaired by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar, issued the orders after the prosecution filed two petitions seeking the arrest of these 11 individuals. The tribunal ordered authorities to arrest and produce Sheikh Hasina and the others before February 12Last year, the tribunal issued arrest warrants against Sheikh Hasina and 45 others in connection with alleged crimes against humanity during the student-led agitation that culminated in her ouster, where over 500 people were killed. Hasina fled to India after fleeing from Dhaka and has been residing here since.
Relations between India and Bangladesh have been in free fall since Hasina’s ouster and the entry of Nobel laureate Muhammed Yunus as the country’s chief adviser, particularly over a surge of attacks on Hindu minorities. The interim government in Bangladesh has promised to extradite Hasina and even sent a diplomatic note to India over the matter.
Hasina has reportedly been living in safehouses in India since August, while frequently shifting locations for safety depending on the advice of the government. The leader in political exile, however, has been continuing to issue occasional statements on Bangladesh’s political situation through her party – Awami League – social media machinery or through her son Sajeeb Wazed.
The Ministry of External Affairs, while acknowledging the receipt of the extradition request from Bangladesh, stated that the government had ‘no comment to offer’. A senior source in the ministry earlier told News18 that the government is likely to respond to the diplomatic note formally, in accordance with the diplomatic protocol.
In a televised address to the nation on his first 100 days in office, Yunus said that the interim government will try those responsible including the former PM for hundreds of deaths during the student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule.
“We will seek the return of the fallen autocrat Sheikh Hasina from India,” he said. Yunus said Hasina’s role would be investigated not only in the deaths during the unrest but also in other violations of human rights, including alleged enforced disappearances while she was in power.
