Bangladesh court issues arrest warrant for ex-prime minister in protester deaths

DHAKA, Bangladesh — 

A peculiar tribunal successful Bangladesh issued apprehension warrants Thursday for erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 45 others, including her adjacent aides, connected charges of crimes against humanity during a student-led uprising successful July and August that forced her to fly the country, a authoritative said.

Prosecutor B.M. Sultan Mahmud said the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal nether Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the country's interim leader, issued the apprehension warrants successful effect to 2 petitions submitted by the prosecution.

He said the caput of the tribunal, Golam Mortuza Majumdar, issued the orders successful the beingness of different judges.

"The tribunal archetypal accepted our petition that progressive Sheikh Hasina alone. Then we moved our 2nd petition against 45 radical that progressive her adjacent aides and others for the crimes against humanity. It was besides accepted by the tribunal," helium said by phone.

Hasina fled the state to India connected August 5 aft weeks of convulsive protests implicit authorities occupation quotas successful which hundreds of radical died. Prosecutors said successful the petitions that Hasina, her adjacent aides and information agencies were liable for sidesplitting the protesters and others.

It is not wide if India volition respond to immoderate petition from Bangladesh for Hasina's extradition nether a communal treaty. The tribunal's main prosecutor, Muhammad Tajul Islam, earlier said they would question assistance from Interpol, if necessary, to get Hasina back.

The Yunus-led interim authorities has promised to effort Hasina and others successful her medication for alleged crimes involving the uprising against her and has invited the United Nations to assistance analyse the killings. Hasina besides called for probe arsenic she questioned the killings, saying galore deaths whitethorn person progressive others beyond information agencies.