\n Bangladesh will seek the extradition of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina who was toppled in a revolution in August and fled to India, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said.\n<\/p>\n
\n Dhaka has already issued an arrest warrant for 77-year-old Hasina -- last seen arriving in neighbouring India after fleeing by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hasina has been summoned to appear in court in Dhaka on Monday to face charges of \"massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity\", but she remains in exile in India.\n<\/p>\n
\n Yunus said his administration was focused on ensuring those guilty of cracking down on the protests to oust Hasina faced justice.\n<\/p>\n
\n Several of her former government ministers, who were detained and held in custody, are expected in court to face similar charges.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"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.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We will seek the extradition of the ousted autocrat from India,\" Yunus said, referring to Hasina.\n<\/p>\n
\n Earlier this month, Bangladesh said it would request an Interpol \"red notice\" alert for fugitive leaders of Hasina's regime.\n<\/p>\n
\n Red notices issued by the global police body alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives.\n<\/p>\n
\n India is a member of Interpol, but the red notice does not mean New Delhi must hand Hasina over.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Request your patience' -\n<\/p>\n
\n 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.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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\".\n<\/p>\n
\n But Yunus said he could not give a timeframe for the elections, saying it was dependent on a raft of reforms.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"I promise that we will hold the much-anticipated election once the necessary and essential reforms are complete,\" he said in the broadcast.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"I request your patience until then. We aim to build an electoral system that will endure for decades. For this, we need some time.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean has called the challenge facing Yunus \"monumental\", warning of that \"cracks are emerging in the fragile alliance\" that pushed him into power.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"For now, Yunus and his colleagues have widespread support, but popular expectations are double-edged,\" the thinktank said in a report on Thursday.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"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.\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bangladesh will seek the extradition of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina who was toppled in a revolution in August and fled to India, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said. Dhaka has already issued an arrest warrant for 77-year-old Hasina -- last seen arriving in neighbouring India after fleeing by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-138377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n