Bangladesh's ousted former prime minister faces arrest warrant

Photo: Indranil Mukherjee Archives Agence France-Presse The International Crimes Tribunal is examining accusations against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina that she organized the “mass murder” of protesters.

Agence France-Presse in Dhaka

Published at 10:22

• Asia

A Bangladeshi court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August after being ousted after weeks of protests.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh has “ordered the arrest of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her arraignment” on November 18, its chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told reporters.

Sheikh Hasina, 77, and her government have been accused of massive human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions and extrajudicial killings of political opponents.

The former prime minister “was at the head of those who committed massacres, murders and crimes against humanity from July to August,” Mohammad Tajul Islam said.

According to a preliminary UN report, more than 600 people have been killed during the crackdown on the movement, including most civilians.

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The court also issued an arrest warrant for Obaidul Quader, former general secretary of the Awami League, the party of the ousted prime minister, as well as 44 other people whose names have not been made public.

In exile in India, but…

Ms Hasina has not been seen in public since leaving Bangladesh. Her last known whereabouts were at a military airbase near the Indian capital, New Delhi.

His presence in India has angered Bangladesh, and Dhaka has cancelled his diplomatic passport.

The two countries have signed a bilateral extradition treaty that theoretically makes it possible for him to return to Bangladesh to face justice.

A clause in the treaty, however, states that extradition can be refused if the offence is of a “political nature.”

A spokesman for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment when asked by journalists. “She fled in a hurry for safety and is still in India,” he said.

“Mass Murders”

The International Crimes Tribunal was established by Sheikh Hasina in 2010, initially to investigate atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

The controversial court, often criticized by human rights groups, has sentenced more than 100 people to death under Hasina’s governments, including many of her opponents.

The court is currently examining charges against the former prime minister that she organized the “mass murder” of protesters.

Dozens of Hasina’s supporters were jailed after she left office on suspicion of being linked to the police crackdown that precipitated the fall of her regime.

Some of her former ministers and prominent members of the Awami League have been arrested, and officials have been forced to leave their posts in courts and the central bank.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and economist Muhammad Yunus, 84, is currently acting as interim prime minister at the request of the protesters.

Mr Yunus has said he intends to prosecute human rights abusers, starting with Sheikh Hasina.

The latter has also pledged to hold parliamentary elections once the “enormous task” of amending the constitution and reforming the judiciary has been completed.