Bangladesh court opens murder case against ex-premier Sheikh Hasina

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — A court in Bangladesh opened a murder investigation into ousted ex-premier Sheikh Hasina and six top figures in her administration Tuesday over the police killing of a man during civil unrest last month.

Hasina, 76, fled by helicopter to neighboring India a week ago, where she remains, as protesters flooded Dhaka's streets in a dramatic end to her iron-fisted tenure.

More than 450 people were killed during the weeks of unrest leading up to her toppling.

"A case has been filed against Sheikh Hasina and six more," said Mamun Mia, a lawyer who brought the case on behalf of a private citizen.

He added that the Dhaka Metropolitan Court had ordered police to accept "the murder case against the accused persons," the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladeshi law.

Mia's filing with the court also named Hasina's former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasina's Awami League party.

It also names four top police officers appointed by Hasina's government who have since vacated their posts.

The case accuses the seven of responsibility for the death of a grocery store owner who was shot dead on July 19 by police violently suppressing protests. 

The Daily Star newspaper reported that the case was brought on behalf of Amir Hamza Shatil, a resident of the neighborhood where the shooting happened and a "well-wisher" of the victim.

‘We don’t deny this’

Hasina's government was accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned from Europe three days after Hasina's ouster to head a temporary administration facing the monumental challenge of steering democratic reforms.

The 84-year-old won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work in microfinance, and is credited with helping millions of Bangladeshis out of grinding poverty. 

He took office as "chief adviser" to a caretaker administration — all fellow civilians bar home minister Sakhawat Hossain, a retired brigadier general — and has said he wants to hold elections "within a few months."

Hossain said on Monday that the government had no intention of banning Hasina's Awami League, which played a pivotal role in the country’s independence movement.

"The party has made many contributions to Bangladesh — we don't deny this," he told reporters on Monday. "When the election comes, (they should) contest the elections."

AFP has contacted the caretaker administration for comment.

‘Temporary crisis’

The new administration has stressed it wants to put Bangladesh on a different path.

Its foreign minister Touhid Hossain told a briefing of more than 60 foreign diplomats late Monday it was "very serious about human rights," and vowed not to "allow any violence or damages to occur," he said.

"All those committing such crimes will be investigated," Hossain added.

The unrest and political change have also shaken Bangladesh's critical garment industry, but he assured diplomats that foreign investments would be protected.

Bangladesh's 3,500 garment factories account for around 85% of its $55 billion in annual exports, supplying many of the world's top brands as the world's second biggest exporter of clothing by value after China.

"This is a temporary crisis," Hossain added. "Everything will come back in the right way, as competent people are in charge."

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By SEAN GLEESON and MOHAMMAD MAZED, Agence France-Presse

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