Key target to bring Hasina back to face trial: CA office
Chief adviser鈥檚 press secretary Shafiqul Alam on Tuesday said that the interim government would soon form a high-level committee to investigate corruption and irregularities committed in the information and communication technology sector during the regime of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
He came up with the information at a press briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital Dhaka on the day.
Shafiqul said, 鈥楳any reports on corruption in the ICT and digitalisation were published in newspapers and we read those. Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus wants a whitepaper to be published to this end.鈥�
He said that the high-powered body having the world鈥檚 renowned economists and ICT experts would be formed within a day or two to prepare the whitepaper.
The committee will probe how corruption was committed and how much money was laundered from the ICT sector in the name of digitalisation during the ousted regime, he said.
He said that the white paper committee would present the white paper within two months.
Shafiqul also spoke about the issue of Bangladesh鈥檚 labour restrictions in the United Arab Emirates.
He said that during the World Government Summit in Dubai in February 11-13, the chief adviser had spoken with several UAE ministers regarding the ban on Bangladeshi workers.
The ban would soon be lifted, allowing Bangladeshis to return to the UAE workforce, he said, adding that the government was actively working on resolving this issue.
In response to a question regarding Hasina鈥檚 extradition, Shafiqul also said the interim government鈥檚 key goal was to bring ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina back to Bangladesh and put her on trial.
He said that the government intended to hold Hasina accountable for her crimes against humanity.
Referring to the recent United Nations Human Rights Commission report which accused Sheikh Hasina of committing crimes against humanity, Shafiqul also stated that the report outlined the serious nature of these offences.
鈥楾his is a grave crime,鈥� he remarked, adding that there has been significant pressure on Hasina following the findings in the report.
He cited a survey conducted by India Today that revealed that 55 per cent of respondents wants Sheikh Hasina send back to Bangladesh, while a smaller percentage advocates for her transfer to another country and only about 16-17 per cent of people wants Hasina remain in India.
Regarding a Committee to Protect Journalists report which highlighted the threats and attacks faced by journalists in Bangladesh, Shafiqul acknowledged the importance of press freedom.
Welcoming the recent CPJ report, he said that sometimes observations were made on the basis of isolated incidents.
He invited the CPJ to visit Bangladesh and observe the state of media freedom in the country, saying that Bangladesh had now one of the highest levels of media freedom in its 53-year history and the interim government never threatened any newspaper for publishing reports.
