Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has said the government expects the extradition of Awami League leaders who fled abroad to start with former home minister Asaduzzaman Kamal.
He made the comment in a post from his verified Facebook account on Friday, signalling that others who left the country after the fall of the Awami League government would also be brought back.
In his post, Shafiqul Alam wrote that he believes Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and the Awami League leaders accused in cases over the July killings will eventually have to face the justice system in Bangladesh.
He said Bangladesh has already requested India to extradite Hasina, who was sentenced in the July killings case, and New Delhi has told Dhaka it is examining the request.
He wrote that despite Hasina’s network of powerful supporters abroad, he is “increasingly convinced” that Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal — whom he referred to as the “Butcher of Dhaka” — will be the first to be sent back to face trial.
As details of crimes committed during Hasina’s long tenure continue to emerge, Kamal’s alleged role in killings and disappearances would draw greater global attention, he said.
Shafiqul Alam wrote that neither Kamal nor other Awami League leaders would be able to avoid accountability indefinitely, regardless of their resources. He said justice for the victims of the July killings and for human rights violations committed during Hasina’s rule depended on national determination and focus.
“It will begin with Kamal, and then…” he wrote at the end of his post.
Following the collapse of the Awami League government during the July uprising, Sheikh Hasina and several party leaders left the country. The International Crimes Tribunal has since sentenced Hasina and her former home minister Asaduzzaman Kamal to death in cases related to crimes against humanity committed during that period.
