NN Online:
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2) has issued arrest warrants against 26 individuals, including former Begum Rokeya University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Md Hasibur Rashid, in connection with crimes against humanity committed during the July-August Mass Uprising, which led to the killing of student Abu Sayed.
The three-member tribunal panel, headed by Justice Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, passed the order after formally accepting charges submitted by the prosecution. The court has adjourned the case hearing until July 10.
Earlier in the day, Senior Prosecutor Mizanul Islam submitted the formal charge sheet at the ICT registrar’s office against 30 accused. The charges follow an investigation report submitted on June 24 by the tribunal’s agency, which implicates several former officials including a former commissioner of Rangpur Metropolitan Police.
While prosecutors initially planned to submit the charge sheet on June 29, the filing was delayed as Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam was occupied with other duties.
Previously, the tribunal had granted a one-month extension on June 15 for submission of the probe report. It also allowed investigators to interrogate four accused: former sub-inspector Amir Hossain, former constable Sujan Chandra Roy (questioned on June 18), and former BRU proctor Shariful Islam and Imran Chowdhury Akash, general secretary of the banned BCL university unit (questioned on June 19). These four were shown arrested in the case on April 9.
According to prosecutors, Abu Sayed was fatally shot at close range by police on July 16, 2024, after proctor Shariful and BCL activists violently evicted protesting students from the campus. Sayed’s family filed a formal complaint on January 13, naming 25 individuals in connection with his death.
