Bangladesh Requests Interpol's Help to Arrest Sheikh Hasina

A special court in Bangladesh has requested Interpol to issue a red notice for the arrest of Sheikh Hasina, the ousted Prime Minister of the country, in connection with the killings of hundreds during protests that led to her downfall. Hasina fled to India on August 4, along with her close aides and several former ministers, marking the end of her fifteen-year rule. Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was elected as the interim leader of this South Asian country on August 16 and ordered the formation of a court that once dealt with charges of crimes against humanity during Bangladesh's independence war in 1971 against Pakistan. B.M. Sultan Mahmood, the prosecutor of this court, told the Associated Press that they have written to Interpol through the head of the Bangladesh police, requesting assistance in arresting Hasina and her associates. Yunus's government has promised to try Hasina and stated that it is seeking her extradition from India. Bangladesh, the most populous country in South Asia, is facing a deep crisis of unemployment, corruption, and severe climate change, leading to deadly floods and storms. Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who became the leader of the new country during Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan 53 years ago, but was killed four years later during a military coup along with most of his family. Hasina and her sister, who were in Europe at the time, survived.