Dhaka [Bangladesh], October 17 : The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Thursday issued arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 45 other top Awami League leaders, including former ministers and officials, according to a report by The Daily Star.
The arrest warrant has been issued in connection with alleged crimes against humanity committed during the July-August uprising.
ICT, led by its chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar, passed the orders. This decision comes after the prosecution filed two petitions with the tribunal, seeking arrest warrants against them, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told The Daily Star.
The tribunal has also ordered the concerned authorities to produce Hasina and 45 others before it after arresting them by November 18. Notably, former ministers Obaidul Quader, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Hasan Mahmud and Anisul Huq are among the 46, as per the tribunal sources.
Over 60 complaints of crimes against humanity and genocide have been filed against former PM Sheikh Hasina and many of her party memeber with the ICT investigation agency. The investigation agency and the prosecution team have already launched probes into the complaints, the Daily Star reported. The government has also prepared a draft to amend the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act-1973.
According to the Dhaka Tribune, Advocate Tajul Islam, the chief prosecutor of the tribunal, informed the media that also said that Interpol's assistance would be sought to bring back fugitives, including Hasina, who are currently abroad.
Earlier on August 31, Bangladesh interim government's foreign affairs advisor Mohammed Touhid Hossain, had said that as cases mount against Sheikh Hasina, his country could consider seeking the extradition of the former premier but that would create an "embarrassing situation for the Indian government."
In an exclusive interview to Reuters TV in Dhaka, Hossain said that "since there are so many cases" against Hasina in Bangladesh, the country's home and law ministries could make the request to extradite her.
Sheikh Hasina had resigned from her post of Prime Minister on August 5 and fled to India in a military aircraft, following mounting protests against the contentious government job quota system that had sparked widespread anti-government demonstrations.
Following Hasina's resignation, a caretaker government was formed in Bangladesh, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.