NN ONLINE:
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in a case filed over crimes against humanity committed during last year’s July-August mass uprising.
The three-member tribunal, headed by Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder began delivering the verdict around 12:30pm unveiling a 453-page judgment. The tribunal found all three accused guilty of the charges brought against them.
Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death on two counts of crimes against humanity. Asaduzzaman Khan was awarded the death penalty on one charge.
Former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who testified as a state witness in the case, was sentenced to five years in prison. As Sheikh Hasina and former minister Asaduzzaman Khan fled the country amid the massive movement on August 5 last year only former IGP Mamun was present at the dock during the delivery of the judgment.
Bangladesh Television (BTV) telecast the verdict live and it was also shown via giant screen at 10 spots of the capital. Initially, Sheikh Hasina was the sole accused in the case.
On March 16 this year, the prosecution appealed to include former IGP Mamun as an accused alongside Sheikh Hasina and the tribunal approved it. After the Awami League government was toppled on August 5, 2024, the ICT was reconstituted.
The tribunal conducted its first hearing on October 17 last year, issuing an arrest warrant against Hasina that day. After extending the deadline several times, the tribunal’s investigation agency submitted its final probe report to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office on May 12 this year. On June 1, the prosecution formally filed charges against Sheikh Hasina and the two accused.
The 5 charges are:
· Inciting violence in a press conference at Ganabhaban on 14 July 2024;
· Ordering the elimination of protestors using helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons;
· Student Abu Sayed’s killing in shooting at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur;
· The killing of six protestors at Chankharpul, Dhaka;
· The burning of six people in Ashulia.
The tribunal formally framed these charges on July 10. The day the charges were framed, Mamun confessed to the court his involvement in crimes against humanity during the uprising and became a state witness. Arguments in the case began on October 12 and concluded on October 23.
Relatives of victims, including the father of martyr Abu Sayed, testified in the case, along with key witnesses including Nahid Islam, Convener of National Citizen Party (NCP) and Amar Desh editor Dr Mahmudur Rahman.
In total, 54 witnesses testified during the trial. The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) on Monday convicted and sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death in a case concerning crimes against humanity committed during last year’s July-August uprising, which claimed more than 1,000 lives.
She was also sentenced to imprisonment unto death on a separate charge. The verdict was delivered by a three-member tribunal headed by Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder in a packed courtroom amid heightened security. The other members of the tribunal are Justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud and Justice Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.
