Hasina tried to incite Army, provoke civil war: ICT chief
Sports Reporter :
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has scheduled November 13 to fix the date for delivering its verdict in the high-profile case against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who stand accused of committing crimes against humanity during the July-August uprising last year.
The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, announced the decision on Thursday after five days of prosecution arguments and three days of defence submissions.
The other members of the bench are Justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmood and Justice Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.
In this much-discussed case, the prosecution sought the maximum punishment for Hasina and Kamal on five counts of crimes against humanity, alleging that the Awami League-led administration used state forces to crush the student-led uprising in mid-2024.
The defence, however, argued for their complete acquittal, calling the charges politically motivated and unsupported by credible evidence. State-appointed defence counsel Md Amir Hossain represented the fugitive accused Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, while lawyer Zayed Bin Amzad appeared for former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who turned state witness in the case.
Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam, joined by prosecutors Mizanul Islam and Gazi S. H. Tamim, led the arguments for the state, assisted by BM Sultan Mahmud, Shaikh Mahdi, and Abdus Sattar Palowan. Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman also appeared before the tribunal, urging the judges to “ensure justice through the highest punishment for the accused.”
During the hearings, relatives of victims, including the father of uprising martyr Abu Sayed, testified alongside prominent witnesses such as Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), and Amar Desh editor Dr Mahmudur Rahman. In total, 54 witnesses were examined in the trial.
The prosecution’s case alleges that during the July-August uprising, the then Awami League government-along with senior officials, loyal administrators, and security personnel-committed crimes against humanity by orchestrating a brutal crackdown on protesters.
The tribunal formally indicted Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former IGP Abdullah Al-Mamun on July 10, marking the beginning of the trial. Al-Mamun later turned state witness, providing detailed testimony about the incidents.
Meanwhile, ICT Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam has alleged that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina attempted to create divisions within state institutions and incite the army in an effort to provoke civil conflict during the July-August Mass Uprising of 2024.
He made the remarks on Thursday while presenting the prosecution’s concluding arguments before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 in the case against Sheikh Hasina and two others, marking the end of the trial’s argument phase.
Tajul Islam told the tribunal that Hasina “tried to provoke a civil war within the state” by attempting to turn members of the armed forces against the government during the uprising. “She tried to incite the army officers, saying, ‘Your officers are being tried – why aren’t you standing up?'” he said.