Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, has stated that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will stand trial for crimes against humanity.

“A trial will be taking place. Not only her, but also all the people who are associated with her – her family members, her clients or associates,” he told UK-based Sky News in an interview.

Hasina is accused of overseeing enforced disappearances and the mass killing of protesters in July and August last year during her time in power.

Currently in exile in India after being toppled by protests, she is alleged to have overseen a network of secret detention centers where political opponents were interrogated, tortured, and, in some cases, killed under the pretext of a “war on terror,” according to a Sky News report published on Wednesday.

Bangladesh has issued two arrest warrants for Hasina. Prof Yunus stated that “formal letters” had been sent to New Delhi but that there had been “no official response.”

He maintained that Hasina would be tried, whether in person in Bangladesh or in absentia in India.

Prof Yunus recently visited one of the notorious secret jails, code-named the “House of Mirrors.” The economist, known as the “banker to the poor,” expressed his shock at what he saw.

“This is just the ugliest thing that you can see, you can feel, or you can observe,” he said.

Hasina is accused of directing security forces and police to abduct, torture, and murder hundreds of activists.

She has denied all allegations, claiming she is being politically persecuted.

Hasina, along with her close aides and many others allegedly involved in operating as many as 800 secret jails, has fled Bangladesh.

Prof Yunus acknowledged the complexity of identifying all those involved in the alleged crimes.

“Everybody was involved in it all,” he said. “The whole government was involved in it. So you cannot distinguish who was really and enthusiastically doing it, who was doing it under orders and who was not quite supportive but carrying out those kinds of things.”

Hasina, the military, and police are also accused of violently cracking down on protesters in July and August, with UN estimates suggesting as many as 1,400 people were killed in the days leading up to her departure.

Prof Yunus emphasized that justice would take time, and not all cases would be resolved immediately.

“Some will get punished, some will still be under the process, some will still be untraceable,” he said.

Investigations into Alleged Corruption

Since assuming leadership, Prof Yunus has initiated anti-corruption investigations into individuals linked to Hasina’s administration.

British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, who is Ms. Hasina’s niece, is one of those under investigation by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Prof Yunus described the case against her as “serious,” stating that she had “a large amount of wealth left behind” in Bangladesh and that “everything” would be examined.

Siddiq resigned as the UK’s anti-corruption minister in January after being named in the investigation.

A spokesperson for the London MP said she “totally denies the claims” and has “not been contacted on these matters.”

Managing the Rohingya Refugee Crisis

Another major challenge for Prof Yunus’s leadership is handling the Rohingya refugee crisis.

The number of Rohingya fleeing Myanmar into Bangladesh has surged due to escalating violence in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war.

Prof Yunus revealed that talks were underway with rebel groups in Myanmar about establishing a “safe zone” to eventually facilitate the return of the Rohingya to their homeland.

He also acknowledged the growing problems in Cox’s Bazar, home to the world’s largest refugee camp, where around one million Rohingya have sought shelter.