Bangladesh ex-premier Sheikh Hasina facing murder charge

A court in Bangladesh has opened a murder investigation into ousted ex-premier Sheikh Hasina and six top figures in her administration over the police killing of a man during civil unrest last month.

The case accuses the seven of responsibility for the death of a grocery store owner, who was shot dead on July 19 by police violently suppressing protests.

The Daily Star newspaper reported that the case was brought on behalf of Amir Hamza, a resident of the neighborhood where the shooting happened and a "well-wisher" of the victim.

Hamza's lawyer said that the Dhaka Metropolitan Court had ordered police to accept "the murder case against the accused persons," the first step in a criminal investigation under Bangladeshi law.

Hasina's administration under investigation

The court filing names Hasina's former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasina's Awami League party. It also lists four top police officers appointed by Hasina's government, who have since vacated their posts.

It was the first case filed against Hasina following a violent uprising that killed about 300 people, many of them college and university students. The ex-premier fled to India on August 5 and has been sheltering in New Delhi.

The student-led movement started with demonstrations against quotas in government jobs before spiralling into violent protests to oust Hasina, who has held the post of prime minister for the last 15 years. Hasina's government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents.

According to her son, she plans to return home to Bangladesh when the caretaker government, headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, decides on holding elections.

ch/nm (AFP, Reuters)