Will petition tribunal for arrest warrant against Hasina: Lawyer

‘Now we are waiting for the ICT to be reformed’

FE Team | Published: August 21, 2024 00:13:55

An arrest warrant will be requested for former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on the allegations of genocide against her once the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has been reformed, according to a lawyer working for the prosecution, reports bdnews24.com.
Advocate HM Tamim said on Tuesday: "The International Crimes Tribunal's investigation agency has registered the allegations as three 'complaints'. That will be the case. They have appointed an investigating officer after registering it. The investigating officer has already begun work."
Asked about the progress in the investigation, he said: "They are working on a profile of the suspects. They are preparing the background. Now they are waiting for the tribunal to be reformed."
The chairman of the tribunal has retired, one judge has returned to the High Court, and all the prosecutors have resigned, Tamim said.
"The investigation officer said as soon as the tribunal is reconstituted, he will apply for issuance of arrest warrant against the accused in this case. If the tribunal grants the petition, the accused will be arrested and brought to justice."
Three applications for investigation against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her cabinet members, Awami League leaders, 14 party leaders and many others have been submitted to the International Crimes Tribunal, accusing them of murder and genocide during the quota reform movement.
After the Awami League came to power in 2009, the tribunal was formed to try the crimes against humanity of 1971.
Based on the verdicts in the trial Jamaat leaders Matiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Mir Kasem Ali, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Abdul Quader Molla and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury were executed over the next few years.
Awami League President Hasina resigned her premiership and fled to India on Aug 5 in the face of a student-led mass movement. She is still there. Most of her party's leaders are now in hiding. Some have been arrested.