Sheikh Hasina faces arrest warrant as Bangladesh to seek extradition from India

DHAKA: Bangladesh interim leader Muhammad Yunus on Monday said his government would request the extradition of Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister who fled to India after her government was overthrown in a revolution in August.

Hasina, 77, was last seen landing in neighbouring India after escaping her country by chopper as protestors surrounded her palace.

A court has already issued an arrest warrant for Hasina while she is living in exile in India despite being summoned by a Dhaka court on Monday to face the trial on accusations of "massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity."

Yunus said his administration was focused on ensuring those guilty of cracking down on the protests to oust Hasina faced justice.

Several of her former government ministers, who were detained and held in custody, are expected in court to face similar charges.

"We have already taken initiatives to try those responsible for enforced disappearances, murders, and the mass killings during the July-August uprising," Yunus said on Sunday.

The 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner was appointed to lead the government as "chief advisor" on August 9, days after the end of Hasina's 15 years of iron-fisted rule.

Yunus, in a speech to the nation marking 100 days in power since a student-led revolution, said he had spoken to Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

"We will seek the extradition of the ousted autocrat from India," Yunus said, referring to Hasina.

Earlier this month, Bangladesh said it would request an Interpol "red notice" alert for fugitive leaders of Hasina's regime.

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

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 organises police cooperation between 196 member countries.

Yunus seeks time for poll

Yunus, a microfinance pioneer, is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the "extremely tough" challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of around 170 million people.

He also begged the country’s "patience" to prepare for the much-awaited poll, vowing an election commission would be formed "within a few days".

But Yunus said he could not give a timeframe for the elections, adding it was dependent on a raft of reforms.

"I promise that we will hold the much-anticipated election once the necessary and essential reforms are complete," he said in the broadcast.

"I request your patience until then. We aim to build an electoral system that will endure for decades. For this, we need some time."

Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean has called the challenge facing Yunus "monumental", warning that "cracks are emerging in the fragile alliance" that pushed him into power.

"For now, Yunus and his colleagues have widespread support, but popular expectations are double-edged," the thinktank said in a report on Thursday.

"If the interim administration falters in making reforms, the outcome is likely to be an early election with little progress; in the worst-case scenario, the military could assume power."