Newly appointed chief prosecutor to the International Crimes Tribunal, Mohammad Tajul Islam said on Sunday that there were substantial legal hurdles in repatriating deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India following the fall of her government on August 5, for trials.
Hasina, named as the principal accused along with her former cabinet members, political associates, and senior police officials, faces over a hundred murder cases and 11 others charges of genocide and crimes against humanity related to deaths of demonstrators during the student-led protests from July 16 to August 5.
Speaking at the International Crimes Tribunal building after taking office as chief prosecutor, Tajul Islam expressed his intention to pursue trials of Sheikh Hasina and her associates following her repatriation under the Extradition Treaty signed between India and Bangladesh during Hasina鈥檚 administration on January 28, 2013.
In response to concerns over a potential conflict of interest due to his prior defence of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and other war crimes defendants prosecuted during Hasina鈥檚 government for 1971 war crimes, Tajul clarified that he had not taken on any war crime cases since 2014.
Tajul further noted the difficulty of gathering evidence for the nationwide crimes, particularly as there were instructions to use lethal force against demonstrators.
He said that this would pose a significant challenge to the investigation and trial process.
Newly appointed prosecutor Gazi Monowar Hussain Tamim, who has been involved in defending accused individuals in 50 pending war crimes cases from the Awami League regime, emphasised the importance of ensuring justice through careful scrutiny of the cases.
The interim government on September 5 constituted the ICT prosecution team with Tajul Islam as the chief prosecutor.
Other prosecutors include Md Mizanul Islam, Gazi Monawar Hussain Tamim, BM Sultan Mahmud, and Abdullah Al Noman.
Mizanul Islam, who had also defended top Jamaat leaders, has been designated as an additional attorney general.
The remaining prosecutors have been designated as deputy attorneys general or assistant attorneys general.
