The British lawyer files a complaint against Hasina, her cabinet at the ICC

DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT

Sun Nov 3 2024 00:00 Last updated: Sat Nov 2 2024 23:59

The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. File photo: Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw

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The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. File photo: Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw

A lawyer has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague accusing former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her government’s ministers and associated state actors of crimes against humanity.

Asraful Arafin, a lawyer from the three Bolt Court Chambers in London, filed the case on October 28 under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, demanding an independent investigation into what he called targeted extrajudicial killings during the mass uprising, torture in secret detention centers and other atrocities.

According to a media statement, he requested the ICC to issue arrest warrants against key suspects to prevent further impunity.

More than 200 murder cases have been filed in Bangladesh since she fled to India on August 5.

Lawyers say the ICC may hear the complaint if it finds that Bangladesh’s courts are unable to do so. The member states of the UN Security Council have a veto over the ICC.

The statement said Bangladesh witnessed a shocking tragedy when the government launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in July and August.

“These forces indiscriminately used firearms, rubber bullets, sound grenades and lethal weapons such as bird bullets and live ammunition,” the statement said.

More than 1,400 civilians were reportedly killed and 22,000 were injured, the report said, adding that at least 92 individuals were blinded and hundreds suffered life-changing injuries.

The government of the day imposed a nationwide internet blackout and restricted all communications, hampering efforts to document the violence, it added.

“These systematic extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture, including alleged abuses in secret detention centers such as Ayna Ghar, amount to crimes against humanity under international law, and reflect a calculated attempt to eliminate political opposition and silence dissent to lay.”

There are significant doubts about the ability of Bangladesh’s legal system to conduct an impartial investigation into these serious crimes because a large number of the country’s law enforcement officers and government officials have been elected by the Hasina government.

It is also expected that the interim government will remain in place until the next parliamentary elections, after which a new political government could take power, potentially endangering justice due to political opportunism.

“Additionally, the enforcement of a domestic conviction remains uncertain given Sheikh Hasina’s current residency in India and her political ties there. However, an international arrest warrant could put pressure on India to cooperate with the global community.”

In February 2014, British lawyer Toby Cadman filed a petition with the ICC on behalf of the International Coalition for Freedoms of Rights, accusing the Awami League government of “committing mass murder and crimes against humanity”.

The ICC rejected that request.