Bangladesh’s interim government intends to pursue charges of crimes against humanity against former PM Sheikh Hasina at the International Criminal Court over the “mass killings” that occurred during the July-August demonstration in the country, officials said.
On August 5, Sheikh Hasina escaped to India in the face of severe protests against her government over the job quota system amid suspicion that foreign hands were at play in orchestrating the unrest and planning her ouster.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus-led government took charge of the country just three days after Hasina exited the country. Yunus, known for his closeness to the US Democrats, also accepted later in an event in America that there was “design and conspiracy” involved in the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
In a Facebook post, the office of the Chief Adviser said the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim A Khan, called on Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the Chief Adviser said the Interim Government would pursue charges of crimes against humanity against the Sheikh Hasina regime at the ICC for the massacre during the July-August mass uprising and thousands of cases of enforced disappearances during her regime.
“The ICC prosecutor has said they would like to extend cooperation to the International Crimes Tribunal, the Bangladesh court, which has issued an arrest warrant against Sheikh Hasina and members of her political party,” the Chief Adviser’s office said in the statement.
Dozens of cases against Hasina and her former government are currently being processed at the Internal Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICT-BD).
(With Inputs from IBNS)
