The ousted leader is currently in India, which has an extradition treaty with Bangladesh; however, a loophole might hinder her return.
Bangladeshi court has issued an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India more than two months ago after being ousted during a student-led uprising.
Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam from Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) announced on Thursday that the court ordered the arrest of Hasina and 45 others, with instructions for them to appear in court by November 18, as reported by The Daily Star.
“Sheikh Hasina was responsible for the massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity committed in July and August,” Islam stated, referencing a violent crackdown on student protests that left over 1,000 people dead, according to data from the interim Health Ministry.
The student protests initially began with demands to abolish the government’s policy of reserving a third of civil service positions for relatives of war veterans. However, the protests soon escalated into a broader call for Hasina’s resignation.
Human rights organizations have accused Hasina of using excessive force against the demonstrators, accusations which she denied.
Following weeks of unrest across the country, Hasina resigned and fled to India in early August. She was succeeded by Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus, who currently leads Bangladesh’s interim government.
Since leaving Bangladesh, Hasina has not been seen in public. The 77-year-old was last known to be at a military airbase near New Delhi, India’s capital.
Her stay in India has angered the Bangladeshi government, which has since revoked her diplomatic passport. While the two nations share an extradition treaty, the agreement includes a clause that allows refusal of extradition for politically motivated charges.
It remains unclear if Hasina, once celebrated as a pro-democracy leader but now seen by critics as increasingly authoritarian, will stay in India or seek refuge elsewhere.
Hasina’s administration was responsible for establishing the controversial International Crimes Tribunal in 2010 to investigate atrocities committed during the 1971 independence war against Pakistan. The tribunal has faced criticism from the United Nations and various rights organizations for its flawed procedures and has often been viewed as a tool for Hasina to target political rivals.
The court is currently investigating several cases accusing Hasina of orchestrating the “mass murder” of protesters.
