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| Bangladesh |
| Hasina's arrest warrant issued |
| 2007-04-23 |
| A Dhaka court on Sunday issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is wanted on a murder charge, ahead of any possible attempt by her to return to Bangladesh. The court termed Hasina, who also faces charges of extortion, an “absconder” and ordered police to confiscate her property if she did not surrender by May 28, court officials said. The Awami League chief is in London and has vowed to try to board a flight to Bangladesh on Sunday in defiance of an order by the army-backed government to stay away. Authorities say her homecoming could trigger more violence. A representative of Hasina in London said she had every intention of going ahead and boarding the flight, returning to Bangladesh to face the charges against her. “Her intention has always been to return and fight these charges and clear her name,” Radwan Siddiq, Hasina’s nephew, told Reuters. “She has always said that she doesn’t believe that these cases will stand up in a court of law because they are politically motivated.” Asked what she was likely to do if she were turned away from the flight, Siddiq said Hasina and her supporters would have to “sit down and take stock of the situation”. Hasina was refused permission to board a British Airways flight to Dhaka last week. |
| Posted by:Fred |