Staff Correspondent:

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants for deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal after accepting five charges of crimes against humanity against them over attempts to quell the July Uprising.

The tribunal also ordered former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, another accused in the case who is currently behind bars, to be produced before the court on Jun 16.

The prosecution has been asked to file a progress report on efforts to arrest Hasina and Asaduzzaman on the same date.

The three-member tribunal headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder issued the order on Sunday. The other two members of the panel are Justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud and retired district and sessions judge Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.

Earlier in the day, the prosecution submitted the formal charges and all documents to the office of the tribunal’s registrar. Afterwards, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam presented the 134-page chargesheet to the tribunal.

The prosecution of the ICT has taken the initiative to make the trial proceedings public. As part of this, the tribunal’s proceedings were broadcast live on television for the first time in Bangladesh’s history.

The tribunal’s ruling paves the way for the trial against ousted Awami League chief Hasina to open at the same court her government set up to try the war criminals of 1971.

Along with Hasina, her government’s home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and ex-inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun have also been named as defendants in the case.

After conducting an investigation, a report on the case was submitted on May 12, bringing five charges of crimes against humanity against the accused.

It describes Hasina as the “mastermind, conductor, and superior commander” of the July-August atrocities.

The interim government has already amended the law to allow for the trial of the Awami League as a party for its role in the July-August crackdown.

Several parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party, have been demanding that the trial of Hasina and the Awami League be completed before the elections.

Law Advisor Asif Nazrul recently said in a Facebook post that he hopes the trial will be completed during the tenure of the interim government.