Bangladesh's opposition party says Sheikh Hasina must face criminal charges

Bangladesh’s main opposition party said the ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, must face criminal charges in the country, and warned India risked damaging ties with its neighbor because it’s sheltering the former leader. 
 

Hasina faces allegations of murder, forced disappearance, money laundering and corruption, and must face the law, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, a senior member of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said by phone Friday.
 

“This is a demand of the people and not of the opposition alone,” he said. He added that ties between India and Bangladesh “could sour” if Hasina continues to be harbored in country.
 

 

Hasina, one of Asia’s longest-serving leaders, resigned and fled Bangladesh on Aug 5 under pressure from millions of protesters who had taken to the streets for weeks to demand she step down. The protests, which were largely led by students, turned deadly as police and pro-government supporters clashed with demonstrators. More than 350 people were killed since July, according to media reports. 
 

An interim government was appointed in Bangladesh Thursday, led by Nobel Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus. Under the constitution, an election needs to be called within 90 days, although Yunus, the military — which backs the interim government — and the president haven’t commented on when elections will be held.
 

The BNP wants the interim government to reorganize the election commission with people who are acceptable to all, in order to create an atmosphere for “free and fair elections,” Chowdhury said. 
 

Hasina had won a fourth term in office in January in elections boycotted by the opposition. Voting has been fraught for decades under Hasina’s iron rule, with widespread allegations of rigging. 
 

“We expect Yunus to do the right think at the right time,” Chowdhury said.
 

India’s role in sheltering Hasina may emerge as a flashpoint in relations between New Delhi and the interim government in Dhaka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi backed Hasina over the years despite growing concerns about human rights abuses and political repression.  
 

India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment further on the matter. On Thursday, spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi wasn’t aware of Hasina’s plans to seek asylum in a third country. “It is for her to take things forward,” he added.

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