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 | | Sheikh Hasina said she must be allowed to return home to answer charges against her |
A Bangladesh court has issued an arrest warrant for Sheikh Hasina, a former prime minister, in connection with the deaths of four protestors in October.
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.
Hasina, chief of the Awami League, 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. At a meeting in London on Sunday, she proclaimed her innocence and insisted on returning home. Return barred She said: "I want to go back to my people, my country, this is my country. They have no right to ban me from going to my country." Hasina was refused permission to board a British Airways flight to Dhaka last week. The Bangladesh government has asked airlines, immigration officials and security forces to block her return. Authorities are warning that Hasina's attempted return to Bangladesh could trigger fresh violence in the country. Bangladesh timeline 1947: It came into being as East Pakistan after Indian independence and partition. 1971: East Pakistan gained complete independence from Pakistan and the new country was called Bangladesh, with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman taking over as prime minister. 1982: General Hussain Mohammed Ershad came to power in an army coup, suspending the constitution and political parties but was forced to step down after massive demonstrations. 1991: Begum Khaleda Zia became the country's first woman prime minister. 1996: Another woman, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was elected to power. 2001: The position of prime minister returned to Zia. 2006: Zia's tenure ended in October and new elections were set for January 2007, but were called off when clashes between the rivals' supporters left 45 people dead. Rival faces exile Sheikh Hasina and her main political rival Begum Khaleda Zia, also a former prime minister, have been blamed for many of the nation's problems, including widespread corruption. Meanwhile, Khaleda's close associates have said authorities want her to go into exile in Saudi Arabia. But Khaleda, who ended her five-year tenure as prime minister in October, has vowed to fight all charges at home. An election had been planned for January but was called off as rival followers fought street battles for weeks, killing at least 45 people and injuring others. Now the interim authority wants both women out of the way, but the two political leaders say it's a denial of democracy.
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