The International Crimes Tribunal(ICT) has issued an arrest warrant against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on charges of genocide surrounding the July-August student movement.

On Thursday (October 17), a bench headed by the Chairman of the tribunal Justice Md. Ghulam Mortuza Majumdar passed the order.

Sheikh Hasina has been ordered to appear before the tribunal by November 18.

Earlier, at 11:30 a.m. the chairman of the International Crimes Tribunal, the bench headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar, the chief prosecutor presented the description of all the murders, massacres, extrajudicial killings, Pilkhana killings during Sheikh Hasina's dictatorial rule. Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam along with that, the prosecution team of the tribunal wanted an arrest warrant against 50 people including Sheikh Hasina.

Around 50 complaints of murder, genocide, disappearance and murder have already been filed with the tribunal's investigation agency and prosecution team around the July-August movement of the students. Deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government ministers, members of Parliament, members of law enforcement, Awami League leaders and media workers have been accused in this.

After 39 long years of independence, the then Awami League government formed the International Crimes Tribunal in 2010 to try those accused of crimes against humanity. The official journey of the tribunal began on March 25 of that year. Later on March 22, 2012, another tribunal named Tribunal-2 was constituted. However, the two tribunals were merged on 15 September 2015. As a result, the trial of 71 perpetrators of crimes against humanity was ongoing in a tribunal. Thirty previous cases are still pending before the tribunal.

Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, Adviser to the Ministry of Labor and Employment said that the syndicate is a problem since birth, its violence will be broken very soon.

He said these things while speaking as the chief guest at the fair price sale of agricultural products organized by Fosal.com in front of the TCB office on Thursday (October 17).

Adviser Asif Mahmud said, evil practices have been happening in various sectors of our country for a long time. One of which was the market sector. That is why the price of some product increases every year. Egg prices have skyrocketed this year. Extortion and syndicate violence are mainly responsible for this. We are working to break the syndicate violence.

The Labor and Employment Adviser said that to reduce the suffering of the consumers, the bartering and syndicates should be eliminated. All private institutions should come forward. The government will help in this.

Asif Mahmud also said that entrepreneurs should take new initiatives so that consumers do not have to rely on syndicates. He said, syndicate is a problem since birth; its violence will be broken very soon.

AHM Safiquzzaman, Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, said that due to market syndicate and extortion, the price of products increases by 30 percent.

He said that cooperative system has not been introduced in the country yet. 4-5 hands change the price of products. However, if the cooperative system was adopted, there would not have been this instability in the market.

The proceedings of the International Crimes Tribunal set up to try the genocide surrounding the student-crowd movement in July-August have started. 3 cases on the agenda on the first day.

On Thursday (October 17) at 11:00 a.m., the proceedings of the tribunal began in the (temporary) courtroom adjacent to the (old) main building of the tribunal.

Tribunal Chairman Justice Golam Mortuza Majumdar along with member Justice Shafiul Alam Mahmud and retired District Judge Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury appeared in the court.

According to the tribunal sources, the prosecution will seek an arrest warrant against 50 people including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the July-August massacre.

The interim government has taken the initiative to try the genocide that took place last July-August in the International Crimes Tribunal formed in 2010 to try the crimes against humanity during the liberation war. Already, half a hundred complaints of murder, genocide, disappearance and murder have been filed with the investigation agency and prosecution team of the tribunal. Deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government ministers, members of Parliament, members of law enforcement, Awami League leaders and media workers have been accused in this.

On March 25, 2010, the International Crimes Tribunal was established to try ‘71 crimes against humanity. Later on March 22, 2012, another tribunal named Tribunal-2 was constituted. However, on September 15, 2015, the two were merged and one tribunal was established. As a result, the trial of seventy-one criminals against humanity is ongoing in a tribunal.

A 22-day ban on fishing in Patuakhali, which began on October 13, has created an acute crisis among local fishermen. The ban will continue until November 3, leaving fishermen in dire economic straits as they are unable to catch fish.

Meanwhile, allegations of Indian fishermen illegally entering Bangladesh's waters to catch fish have raised anger and apprehension among local fishermen. Kabir Hossain, a fisherman from Mohipur area, said, "We are following the government's instructions, and they are taking our fish away."

Raju Ahmed Raja, general secretary of Mahipur Artadar Malik Samiti, said that while the ban is important for fish breeding and conservation, swift action is needed to stop illegal infiltration by Indian fishermen.

Fishermen fear that if this situation continues, they will fail to catch enough fish after the ban, which will lead to long-term losses. They therefore demanded the government to take swift action to stop the infiltration of Indian fishermen and secure their livelihood.