Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal issues second arrest warrant against Shiekh Hasina
Dhaka: Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) has issued a second arrest warrant for deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose is currently living in self-exile in India.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the warrant was issued by Ghulam Mortuza Mojumdar, the chairman of the tribunal after a prosecution plea was heard against Shiekh Hasina and 11 others, including former military generals and an ex-police chief, in connection with enforced disappearances in Bangladesh during her atrocious rule.
The Inspector General of Police Bangladesh has been ordered to arrest the twelve individuals, including Hasina, and present them before the tribunal on February 12. The case involves complaints of enforced disappearances affecting several hundred people.
This marks the second arrest warrant issued against Hasina, who fled to India after her Awami League government was toppled following large-scale anti-government protests in August 2024.
Among those named in the case are Hasina’s former defense advisor, Major General (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, and former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed. While Siddique remains in custody, Ahmed is believed to be at large.
The ICT’s Chief Prosecutor, Mohammad Tajul Islam, did not disclose the identities of most of the accused, citing the ongoing investigation. He stated that the ousted regime established a culture of state-sponsored enforced disappearances, with agencies such as the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the Detective Branch (DB), the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) heavily involved.
Over the past 15 years, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, often referred to as crossfires, have created a climate of fear in Bangladesh, with thousands of people abducted, many never to return.
In the previous month, the Bangladesh government officially requested Hasina’s extradition from India, which New Delhi acknowledged but refrained from commenting on.
The first arrest warrant for Hasina was issued on October 17 on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity linked to the July-August protests and uprising. Since the fall of her government, over 60 cases of enforced disappearances, killings, and other crimes have been filed against her and senior officials in her administration.
