Bangladesh ex-ministers face ‘massacre’ charges, Hasina probe deadline set

International Crimes Tribunal asks to implicit probe against ex-PM Sheikh Hasina and taxable a study by December 17.

More than a twelve Bangladeshi erstwhile apical authorities officials arrested aft a wide uprising in August person been charged with “enabling massacres” earlier a peculiar tribunal which besides told investigators they person 1 period to implicit their enactment connected erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Dozens of Hasina’s allies were taken into custody since her authorities collapsed, accused of engagement successful a constabulary crackdown that killed much than 1,000 radical during the unrest that led to her removal and exile to India.

Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam connected Monday said the 13 defendants, who included 11 erstwhile ministers, a justice and an ex-government secretary, were accused of bid work for the deadly crackdown connected the student-led protestation that toppled the regime.

“We person produced 13 defendants today, including 11 erstwhile ministers, a bureaucrat, and a judge,” Islam, the main authoritative of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, told reporters. “They are complicit successful enabling massacres by participating successful planning, inciting violence, ordering instrumentality enforcement officers to sprout connected sight, and obstructing efforts to forestall a genocide.”

Hasina, who fled to New Delhi by chopper connected August 5, was besides owed successful tribunal successful Dhaka connected Monday to look charges of “massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity”, but she remained a fugitive successful exile, with prosecutors repeating extradition demands for her.

Golam Mortuza Majumdar, the caput justice of the three-member International Crimes Tribunal, acceptable December 17 for investigators to decorativeness their work. The deadline came aft prosecutors sought much clip for the investigation.

Hasina’s astir 16-year tenure saw wide human rights abuses, including the wide detention and extrajudicial killings of her governmental opponents.

“The crimes that led to wide murders and genocide person occurred implicit the past 16 years crossed the country,” said Islam.

The tribunal’s main authoritative has already sought assistance from Interpol done the country’s constabulary main to apprehension Hasina. India is simply a subordinate of Interpol, but this does not mean New Delhi indispensable manus Hasina implicit arsenic each state applies their ain laws connected whether an apprehension should beryllium made.

On Sunday, interim person and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said his medication volition question her extradition from India – a petition that could strain relations with a cardinal determination ally, which maintained adjacent ties with the removed person passim her clip successful power.

Yunus said arsenic galore arsenic 3,500 radical whitethorn person been abducted during Hasina’s “autocratic” rule.

Protests broke retired crossed Bangladesh this summertime aft assemblage students demanded the abolition of a arguable quota strategy successful authorities jobs that they said favoured supporters of the governing party. Though Bangladesh’s apical tribunal scrapped the quota, the protests soon morphed into a wider telephone for Hasina’s removal from power.

The government’s effect was 1 of the bloodiest chapters successful Bangladesh’s past arsenic information forces bushed and fired teardrop state and unrecorded ammunition connected peaceful demonstrators, sidesplitting much than 1,000 radical successful 3 weeks and arresting thousands.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies