Hasina must return home through legal process: Law minister

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman on Saturday said ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina could return to Bangladesh only through legal channels, adding that her extradition from India under the bilateral treaty must also follow due legal procedures.

"There is no legal scope for condoning delay in filing an appeal in the crimes against humanity case against her, as the special law leading the trial does not provide any such provision. They are the ones who enacted that law and it is contained in our constitution," he said.

He made the remarks after attending the annual general meeting of the Bangladesh Registration Service Association (BRSA) at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka. Asked about the scope for Hasina to appeal, he said her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, introduced a constitutional amendment in 1973, and Article 47(3) states that no one accused or convicted of crimes against humanity can claim fundamental rights.

Referring to a BBC report published on Friday about Hasina's return, he said, "We have taken all necessary steps required on our part within the legal process. As for what they (India) will do, that is a matter for them."

Asked whether India had held talks with Bangladesh about sending Hasina to a third country, the minister said India could answer that question. The government had taken all possible legal steps, he added, while the next course of action rested with India. 

Asaduzzaman said enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and fabricated "ghost" cases, facilitated through the misuse of state machinery, had taken place across districts over the past 16-17 years to harass and neutralise political opponents.

"We have pledged to the nation that we will ensure trial of all cases in connection with crimes against humanity and we are walking through the path," he said.

He said investigators and prosecutors would work independently on proceedings against the Awami League as a political organisation, without government interference.

Addressing sub-registrars, he said, "If I receive complaints of harassment, I will not hesitate to take a zero-tolerance stance, because your department's reputation is also linked to my own."