Hasina among 30 fugitives ordered to surrender to tribunal

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal-2 has ordered Sheikh Hasina, former army chief General Aziz Ahmed, former police chief Benazir Ahmed and 27 other fugitives to surrender by September 16, in a case alleging crimes against humanity arising from the deadly 2013 crackdown on a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Dhaka's Shapla Chattar.

The three-member bench, presided over by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, issued the directive on Thursday in response to a prosecution petition, simultaneously instructing that surrender notices be published in national newspapers. Prosecutors informed the tribunal that law-enforcement agencies had been unable to trace the accused at either their permanent or temporary addresses, notwithstanding previously issued arrest warrants; several accused already in custody, among them former ministers Hasanul Haq Inu and Dipu Moni, ex-police chief AKM Shahidul Haque, and former RAB official Ziaul Ahsan, were duly produced before the court.

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The indictment comprises two distinct charges: one pertaining to fatalities during the initial Shapla Chattar crackdown, and another concerning subsequent bloodshed in Narayanganj and beyond. Prosecutors contend that the then-administration orchestrated the operation by deliberately severing electricity and internet connectivity, though such allegations remain, as yet, unproven and subject to judicial scrutiny. Tribunal investigators have so far attributed 61 deaths to the Shapla Chattar episode, while Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam disclosed that Interpol's assistance would be enlisted to repatriate the fugitives and bring them to justice.