Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s gov’t is accused of killing hundreds of protesters last summer.
Thousands of people have rallied in Bangladesh’s capital to demand the prosecution of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and those responsible for hundreds of deaths in a mass uprising against her government in July.
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement organised what it called the March for Unity on Tuesday at the Central Shaheed Minar, a national monument in Dhaka. Protesters chanted slogans calling for Hasina’s trial and the banning of her Awami League party.
Hasina fled to India on August 5 after weeks of violence in which authorities said hundreds of people were killed and thousands more injured on the orders of her government. The uprising ended the 15-year rule of the country’s longest-serving prime minister, who began a fourth consecutive term in January after elections boycotted by opposition parties.
Last week, Bangladesh sent a formal request to India to extradite Hasina. She faces many court cases over the deaths of protesters, including some on charges of crimes against humanity.
“Since August 5, we have no more enemies in Bangladesh. Our only enemy is the Awami League,” Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the student movement, said while addressing the crowd.
Protesters also urged the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to issue a formal proclamation by January 15 representing the uprising.
The student leaders want the proclamation to include two key demands: a new constitution after the abolishment of the current charter, which was enacted under Hasina’s father in 1972, and a ban on the Awami League.
Hasina’s party had ruled Bangladesh since 2009.
The Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal has already issued arrest warrants for Hasina and her close aides, and the government has sought help from the international police organisation Interpol in seeking her arrest.
Speaking from the United States, Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, has questioned the credibility of the tribunal and called charges against her a “political witch-hunt”.
Meanwhile, the interim government has promised to try Hasina and others in her administration on charges involving the deaths of protesters and has invited the United Nations to help investigate the killings.
Hasina has also called for an investigation, saying many deaths may have involved other parties aside from the security agencies.
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