‘Govt wants all accused abroad, including Sheikh Hasina, to return for trial’

Information Minister Andaleeb Rahman Partha said that the government wants all accused persons abroad, including Sheikh Hasina, to return to the country for the sake of trial. 

He said, “Not only Sheikh Hasina, we want all those in Bangladesh who have cases against them and those who are abroad to return to the country.”

He made the remarks in response to questions from journalists at the weekly briefing organised on the progress of various government activities at the conference room of the Press Information Department (PID) at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

At the beginning of the programme, the Information Minister unveiled the cover of the book titled ‘I Have a Plan: 6 Months of Democratic Movement’ published by the PIB on the special achievements of the government in the last six months.

The Information Minister said, “We know that Sheikh Hasina is currently in India. The Bangladesh government has given India the necessary conditions and requests to bring her back.”

He said, “A report published in the ‘Indian Express’ said that the Indian side can consider sending Sheikh Hasina back through the court process.”

The Information Minister said, “I think that if the matter is left to the court without taking a direct political decision, then it will not be very good news for her.”

He also said, “If someone supports or promotes fascism in their intellectual thinking, we have nothing to do except condemn that thing socially. Those who do not believe in the spirit of free Bangladesh and the new independent Bangladesh, the biggest punishment for them is to be socially boycotted.”

In response to another question regarding the freedom of the media, Minister Andaleeb Rahman said, “Believing in democracy is a matter of mentality. The mentality that we have seen for the last 17 years was to take a stand against criticism. But there is no mentality on the part of the current government or the Prime Minister to stop media freedom or control the media.”

Illustrating the institutional system of the previous regime, he further said, “In the last 17 years, all the systems of the country were corrupt. After taking charge after such a fragile situation, the government is going through one of the most difficult times in the country’s history. In this situation, we expect objective criticism from you so that we can correct the mistakes and move forward on the right path.”

It is worth noting that Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power through a mass uprising in August 2024. She has been staying in India since then.