Arrest Warrant Issued Against Sheikh Hasina In New Crimes Against Humanity Case
Amid speculation about a possible return to her homeland, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently taking shelter in India, has become entangled in fresh legal trouble. The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh has recently filed a new case and issued arrest warrants against Sheikh Hasina and 40 others.
The case has been filed on charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the police operation carried out against a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Dhaka’s Shapla Chattar in 2013.
According to Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam, after the formal complaint was submitted to the Tribunal’s registrar on Monday, the court accepted the charges against all 40 accused, including Sheikh Hasina, and issued arrest warrants against the fugitives. The case also includes the then Army Chief, administrative officials, politicians, and members of security agencies as accused.
According to the allegations, after Hefazat-e-Islam held a protest rally at Dhaka’s Shapla Chattar on May 5, 2013, law enforcement agencies launched an overnight operation to evict the protesters. The prosecution stated that investigations found that 58 people were killed in that operation across Dhaka and five other districts.
Human rights organization Odhikar described the incident as a massacre. While Human Rights Watch did not support claims of a large-scale massacre, it did state that the police operation had caused many deaths. Amnesty International also demanded an impartial investigation into the incident.
In contrast, the then Awami League government claimed that a total of 11 people, including five security personnel, were killed due to clashes, stampedes, and attacks by protesters. The government rejected the list of many deceased published by others, alleging that some people named in the list were alive and that other names were fictitious.
It may be mentioned that after being ousted in the student-led mass uprising in 2024, Sheikh Hasina came to India and took shelter. Earlier too, the Tribunal had sentenced her to death in absentia in another trial.
This Tribunal was formed in 2010 to try collaborators of the Pakistani army during the 1971 Liberation War. The law was later amended. Under the amended law, the interim government has also made provisions to prosecute former leaders and officials of the Awami League government on charges of crimes against humanity.
