Bangladesh to seek Interpol alert for fugitive ex-PM Hasina loyalists

In this photograph taken and released on July 25, 2024 by Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office, Former PM Sheikh Hasina weeps while she visits a metro station vandalized during the anti-quota protests in Mirpur, Bangladesh. (Bangladesh PMO/File)
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Updated 10 November 2024
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Bangladesh to seek Interpol alert for fugitive ex-PM Hasina loyalists

  • Dozens of Hasina loyalists accused of involvement in bloody crackdown have been arrested
  • Red notices issued by Interpol alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives

 DHAKA: Bangladesh said Sunday it would request an Interpol “red notice” alert for fugitive leaders of the ousted regime of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was toppled in a revolution in August.

“Those responsible for the indiscriminate killings during the mass uprising in July and August will be brought back from wherever they have taken refuge,” Asif Nazrul, the interim government’s law adviser, told reporters on Sunday.

“We will ensure they are arrested and brought to justice.”

Dozens of Hasina’s allies have been taken into custody since her regime collapsed, accused of involvement in a police crackdown that killed more than 700 people during the unrest that led to her ouster.

France-based Interpol publishes red notices at the request of a member nation, based on an arrest warrant issued in their home country.

Nazrul did not mention any individual by name, but Bangladesh has already issued an arrest warrant for 77-year-old Hasina — last seen arriving in India after fleeing by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace.

Hasina’s 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.

Red notices issued by the global police body alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives.

Nazrul said they would request a red notice “as soon as possible.”

India is a member of Interpol, but the red notice does not mean New Delhi must hand Hasina over.

Member countries can “apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person,” according to the group, which organizes police cooperation between 196 member countries.

Hasina has been summoned to appear in court in Dhaka on November 18 to face charges of “massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity.”

Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told AFP on Sunday that the court had “sought arrest warrants for more than 60 individuals,” and that “so far, around 25 have been arrested,.”
 


Trump says to address nation on Wednesday

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Trump says to address nation on Wednesday

  • “It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!” said Trump

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said he would give a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, adding that it had been a “great year” for the United States since his return to power in January.
“My Fellow Americans: I will be giving an ADDRESS TO THE NATION tomorrow night, LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, at 9 P.M. EST. I look forward to ‘seeing’ you then,” he said on his Truth Social network on Tuesday.
“It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!“