DHAKA: A court in Bangladesh has opened a murder investigation against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six top officials from her administration. In her first public statement since her abrupt resignation, Hasina called for an investigation into the protests that led to her removal.
Meanwhile, the White House stated that the United States “had no involvement” in Hasina’s ouster, labeling her previous claims as “simply false.”
Hasina, 76, resigned as prime minister on August 5 following a student-led uprising against her government. She fled to longtime ally India a week ago, where she remains, as protesters filled the streets of Dhaka in a dramatic conclusion to her authoritarian rule. Over 450 people were killed during the weeks of unrest preceding her downfall.
“A case has been filed against Sheikh Hasina and six others,” said Mamun Mia, a lawyer who filed the case on behalf of a private citizen. He noted that the Dhaka Metropolitan Court had ordered police to accept the murder case against the accused, marking the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladeshi law.
The filing named former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Obaidul Quader, general secretary of Hasina’s Awami League party, along with four senior police officers who were appointed by her government and have since left their posts. The case accuses the seven of being responsible for the death of a grocery store owner who was shot by police during a violent suppression of protests on July 19. The Daily Star reported that the case was brought on behalf of Amir Hamza Shatil, a local resident.
Hasina’s government has faced accusations of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killings of thousands of political opponents.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned from Europe three days after Hasina’s ouster to lead a temporary administration tasked with implementing democratic reforms. He has taken office as “chief adviser” to a caretaker government composed entirely of civilians, except for Home Minister Sakhawat Hossain, a retired brigadier general. Yunus expressed his intention to hold elections “within a few months.”
Home Minister Hossain assured that the government had no plans to ban Hasina’s Awami League, which played a crucial role in the country’s independence movement. “The party has made significant contributions to Bangladesh — we don’t deny this,” he stated. “When the election comes, they should contest.”
The new administration has emphasized its commitment to a different trajectory for Bangladesh. Foreign Minister Touhid Hossain informed over 60 foreign diplomats that the government is “very serious about human rights” and vowed to prevent any violence or damage, promising that all crimes will be thoroughly investigated.
