Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, which issued arrest warrants against deposed PM Sheikh Hasina & 45 others, had previously tried top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders for similar crimes. Foreign affairs adviser Mohammed Touhid Hossain said Thursday that Dhaka would take steps necessary to bring Hasina back to Bangladesh as the ICT has issued arrest warrants.
The arrest orders were passed by a three-member ICT bench led by chairman Justice Mohammed Golam Mortuza Majumdar after two petitions were filed by the prosecution seeking the arrest of Hasina and others.Chief prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam, who has a Jamaat background, told reporters that the accused hold significant power, which necessitated a cautious approach in revealing all the names involved. He suggested that Hasina’s former cabinet members were also among those named in the petitions.
The tribunal has already received over 60 complaints of genocide and crimes against humanity against Hasina and other Awami members.
Hasina fled to India in early Aug. Calls for her extradition to Bangladesh have grown louder, with both the govt and legal experts pointing to the extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India. Bangladesh interim govt chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, during a recent visit to New York, had addressed questions about Hasina’s possible extradition.
At a meeting with ICC chief prosecutor Karim A A Khan, Yunus asked him about the procedure to file a case of crimes against humanity at the ICC. Khan said Bangladesh can definitely file a complaint at the Hague-based court but added that there are rules to be followed for this.