Bangladesh court issues arrest warrant for ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over deaths of protesters

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A special court in Bangladesh issued arrest warrants on Thursday for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 45 others, including her close aides, on charges of crimes against humanity during a student-led uprising in July and August that forced her to flee the country, a prosecutor said.

Prosecutor B.M. Sultan Mahmud said the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal issued the arrest warrants in response to two petitions submitted by the prosecution.

He said the head of the tribunal, Golam Mortuza Majumdar, issued the orders in the presence of other judges.

Hasina fled the country to India on Aug. 5 after weeks of violent protests in which hundreds of people died. Prosecutors said in the petitions that Hasina, her close aides and security agencies were responsible for killing the protesters and others.