Bangladesh Court Issues Second Arrest Warrant For Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina

A court in Bangladesh has issued a second arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on charges of enforced disappearances during her rule, the chief prosecutor said on Monday. Dhaka has already issued an arrest warrant for Ms Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity.

Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of the domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), said the second warrant relates to enforced disappearances during her rule.

"The court issued a warrant against Sheikh Hasina and 11 others, including her military adviser, military personnel, and other law enforcement officials," Islam told reporters.

Islam said the court wanted to go ahead with the trial.

"We want to ensure the trial concludes as soon as possible, but that doesn't mean we will break the law or impose a verdict without due process," he told reporters.

The 77-year-old Hasina fled to India in August after her regime was toppled by a student-led revolution.  Bangladesh asked India in December to send her back to face trial, a demand to which Delhi declined to respond.

Ms Hasina's 15 years of iron-fisted rule was marred by human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.

Over 500 people were allegedly abducted by Bangladeshi security personnel during her reign, with some detained in secret facilities for years. Victims have begun coming forward since Hasina's ouster with harrowing accounts of their ordeals, according to a report by AFP.

Dozens of Hasina's allies have been taken into custody since her government collapsed, accused of involvement in a police crackdown that killed more than 700 people during the unrest that led to her ouster.