A Bangladeshi court has ordered an arrest warrant for former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in August after she was ousted by mass protests.
Hasina is wanted by Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal ( ICT) for her reported involvements in” crimes against humanity” that took place during the marches, in which hundreds were killed.
Hasina, who was in charge of Bangladesh for more than 20 years, was seen as an autocrat whose government ruthlessly clamped down on dissent.
Additionally, 45 people, including former government ministers who likewise emigrated, have been granted arrest warrants.
” The judge has… ordered the arrest of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and to make her in court on November 18″, Mohammad Tajul Islam, the ICT’s general attorney, told reporters on Thursday.
” Sheikh Hasina was at the reins of those who committed murders, deaths and crimes against humanity in July to August”, he added.
Bangladesh’s time health department said in August that more than 1, 000 people were killed in the assault this summer after student-led protests against state employment quotas turned into bulk demonstrations, making it the bloodiest time in the country’s history since its 1971 independence.
Hasina, 77, has not been seen in public since fleeing Bangladesh. Her last official whereabouts is a military airbase near India’s capital Delhi.
Initial expectations were for her to stay in India for a short while, but reports claim that her attempts to seek asylum abroad have been unsuccessful.
Working with the new interim government in Dhaka with her continued existence in India poses a problem for Delhi. Many people in Bangladesh are upset that India has given her house.
She has been removed from her political passport by Bangladesh’s new interim government, and the two nations have a diplomatic extradition treaty that would permit her to face a criminal trial.
A section in the treaty, but, says extradition may become refused if the crime is of a “political personality”.
The ICT was established by Hasina’s authorities in 2010 to look into atrocities committed during the conflict with Pakistan, which led to Bangladesh’s declaration of independence in 1971.
Its legal flaws were criticized by the UN and right organizations, and it became widely accepted as a means for Hasina to get rid of political opponents.
The judge, reconstituted by the time state, began its proceedings on Thursday. Critics claim that it lacks magistrates with international law practice.
The jury is looking into a number of instances in which Hasina is accused of orchestrating the “mass death” of activists.
Sajeeb Wazed, Hasina’s child, has stated that his family is prepared to stand trial. He told the Reuters news organization next month that “my mother has not done anything wrong.”