Bangladesh announced on Sunday that it would request an Interpol “red notice” alert for fugitive leaders from the ousted regime of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was overthrown during 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 advisor, told reporters.
Since Hasina’s regime collapsed, dozens of her allies have been arrested for their involvement in a violent police crackdown that led to the deaths of over 700 people during the unrest.
France-based Interpol issues red notices at the request of a member nation based on an arrest warrant from the home country.
Nazrul did not name any individuals specifically but confirmed that Bangladesh had already issued an arrest warrant for Hasina, who was last seen fleeing to India by helicopter after her palace was stormed by protesters. Hasina, who ruled for 15 years, faced accusations of widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and mass detentions of political opponents.
Red notices alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives, but they do not compel countries to arrest and extradite the individuals. According to Interpol, each member country applies its own laws when deciding whether to act on a red notice.
Hasina has been summoned to appear in a Dhaka court on November 18 to face charges of “massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity.”
Mohammad Tajul Islam, the chief prosecutor of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), said the court had issued arrest warrants for over 60 individuals, with around 25 arrests made so far.
