Bangladesh’s interim government has revoked the diplomatic passport of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country earlier this month amid a student-led uprising. The move leaves the former leader in a precarious position as she currently resides in India, having escaped the unrest by helicopter on August 5.
The revocation of the passport of Sheikh Hasina comes on the same day that a United Nations team arrived in Dhaka to evaluate the need for an investigation into alleged human rights violations committed during her rule. The uprising that led to her ouster saw over 450 people killed, many of them reportedly by police fire, as protestors stormed her official residence in Dhaka, ending her 15-year reign.
In a statement, Bangladesh’s interior ministry announced that diplomatic passports belonging to Sheikh Hasina, her former ministers, and ex-lawmakers “have to be revoked” as they no longer hold official positions. The statement added that these individuals could apply for standard passports, but the issuance of these documents would be contingent on approval from two security agencies.
The revocation of Sheikh Hasina’s passport places her current host, India, in a diplomatic dilemma. While India is providing refuge to the former prime minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed support for Bangladesh’s new leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker administration.
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Sheikh Hasina’s government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of political opponents. The UN rights office, in a preliminary report last week, indicated “strong indications, warranting further independent investigation, that the security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force” during the protests that led to her ouster.
Muhammad Yunus has assured that his administration will “provide whatever support” UN investigators need to conduct their inquiry. In a separate development, a war crimes tribunal, originally established by Sheikh Hasina, has launched three “mass murder” probes into its founder in connection with the recent unrest.
As the situation in Bangladesh remains tense, the international community is closely monitoring the developments, particularly the actions of the interim government and the potential implications for regional stability. Sheikh Hasina’s future remains uncertain as she navigates the fallout from her dramatic exit and the ongoing investigations into her regime’s alleged human rights violations.
