Bangladesh Tribunal Issues Arrest Warrants for Sheikh Hasina, Opens Party Probe into Awami League

Overview

• A three-member ICT bench issued warrants for Hasina and others after taking cognisance of two cases and set October 22 for the accused to be produced.
• The filings allege detention, torture and enforced disappearances at the DGFI’s Joint Interrogation Cell and the Rapid Action Battalion’s Task Force Interrogation unit.
• Each case lists five counts of crimes against humanity and names security adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique along with former DGFI and RAB officials.
• The tribunal’s investigative agency opened a party-level probe of the Awami League and appointed an investigation officer, citing a 2024 complaint by the Nationalist Democratic Movement.
• Human Rights Watch and other groups report thousands of arrests under amended anti-terrorism powers, including the detention of 16 journalists, academics and veterans at an August 28 event.