Bangladesh: Another complaint of genocide against Sheikh Hasina

A fresh complaint was filed on Tuesday, 20 August, with Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal, accusing deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 23 others of committing crimes against humanity and genocide during a rally by an Islamist group in May 2013.

Bangladesh Supreme Court lawyer Gazi MH Tamim filed the complaint on behalf of Mufti Harun Ijahar Chowdhury, joint secretary general (education and law) of Hefajat-e-Islam, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

"We registered the complaint, and thus the investigation has started from today," Ataur Rahman, deputy director (admin) of the investigation agency, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

"Once we complete the preliminary investigation and visit the place of occurrence and the tribunal is reconstituted, we, through the prosecution, will seek arrest warrants against the accused," he said.

The complaint accused Hasina and 23 others of committing crimes against humanity and genocide during a Hefajat-e-Islam rally at Motijheel's Shapla Chattar on 5 May 2013.

This is the fourth complaint filed with the International Crimes Tribunal accusing the 76-year-old former premier, who resigned and fled to India on 5 August following massive protests against her government over a controversial quota system in government jobs.

Of the four, three cases are connected to the recent violence centring on the quota reform movement.

The other accused include Awami League general secretary and former road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, former minister Reshed Khan Menon, former mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, ex-advisor to prime minister Salman F. Rahman, former security advisor to the prime minister Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former inspector general of police A.K.M. Shahidul Haque, editor of ABnews24.com Subhash Singha Roy and former army chief Aziz Ahmed.

Besides them, some unnamed ministers, state ministers and lawmakers, unnamed individuals from law enforcement agencies and the then-policymakers of some electronic and print media stand accused as well.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday asked India to extradite Hasina to face trial, as he accused her of plotting to thwart the country's revolution.

Over 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July.

An interim government was formed after the fall of the Hasina-led government, and 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was named its chief adviser.