Can Interpol arrest Sheikh Hasina, can it issue a red notice

An FIR has been filed against former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over the death of a person during a protest against job quota. Now the biggest question is whether Interpol can arrest her.

A Bangladesh court has ordered an investigation into a murder case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six members of her government. An FIR has been lodged against all of them in Dhaka. Actually, all these people have been booked for murder over the death of a person in police firing during a protest against government job quota in July 2024. Hasina is currently in Delhi. The question arises whether Interpol can arrest Sheikh Hasina in such a situation.

Also, there is another question whether Bangladesh can directly request India that Sheikh Hasina is wanted in a murder case in their country and hence she should be extradited. We will see about this later. First, let us see whether Interpol can really arrest former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in such a case.

Has Bangladesh made a request to Interpol
In such cases, the country first makes a request to Interpol and provides the relevant documents to it. However, apart from this, there are many other legal and complex aspects like extradition treaties between countries, in which a major aspect is the attitude of the government and court of the country where the wanted person is living.

However, there is no indication so far that Bangladesh has made any request to Interpol to arrest Sheikh Hasina. Moreover, this case is still in its initial stage. That is, it is still in the initial investigation stage. Interpol does not interfere in such cases unless it is provided with solid evidence and related documents.

Can Interpol directly arrest Sheikh Hasina
Interpol can never arrest anyone directly, rather it can work only with the help of that country’s police. The local police will arrest the wanted person and hand him over to Interpol and Interpol will then hand him over to the country that has requested it for arrest after completing the necessary legal action or formalities. It is important to note that as an international police cooperation organization, Interpol does not have the authority to arrest individuals directly.

What does Interpol do in such cases?
Interpol can issue a Red Corner Notice at the request of a member country, which is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. However, the actual arrest and extradition process still needs to be handled through bilateral agreements and cooperation between the countries involved.

Bangladesh has not yet requested any help from Interpol.

What help has Bangladesh sought from Interpol
Bangladesh has recently sought Interpol’s assistance in tracking down a suspect in the murder of MP Anwarul Azim Anar, who is believed to have fled to the US.

When can Interpol issue a red corner notice against Hasina

Serious legal offences – Generally, any country can take help of Interpol only in cases of serious legal crimes or economic crimes related to corruption. Of course, Interpol can issue a red corner notice against Hasina, but the murder case in which a case has been registered against Hasina is more of a political or administrative one. Hasina is not personally involved in this. Therefore, Interpol does not interfere in such cases.
Usually the cases sent to Interpol are related to serious crimes or organized crime.

Judicial request to be – Requests for a Red Notice must come from the judicial authorities of a Member State. This means that there must be an existing arrest warrant or court order issued by the legal system of the requesting country.

Compliance with the constitution of Interpol – Whatever country is making the request, its request must be in accordance with Interpol’s constitution and rules. In particular, Article 3 of Interpol’s constitution prohibits any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. So if the request is considered politically motivated, it may be rejected.

Human rights related – Interpol must ensure that a request for the arrest of an individual by a country does not violate the human rights of the individual concerned. Interpol can reject a request if it believes that the individual will be subjected to torture or unfair prosecution after extradition.

Minimum penalty criteria- Whether the crime committed by the person whose arrest is requested from Interpol meets the requirements defined by Interpol. If the punishment for the alleged crime is not severe enough in the requesting country, a red notice cannot be issued.

INTERPOL also reviews – Before complying with any request, it is reviewed by a special task force within Interpol. It is thoroughly reviewed, if any deficiency is found anywhere then Interpol does not proceed further in this matter.

Can Bangladesh directly ask India for the extradition of Sheikh Hasina
India and Bangladesh have an extradition treaty. Among the SAARC countries, India has extradition treaties with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. On 28 July 2016, India and Bangladesh signed an agreement to amend Article 10(3) of the bilateral extradition treaty to facilitate speedy extradition of fugitive offenders between the two countries. However, extradition takes place only if sufficient dossiers are submitted to the other country.

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