ICT-1: ‘Doctors pressured to alter records’
Staff Reporter :
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) on Wednesday heard testimony from Dr Md Mahfuzur Rahman, associate professor at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital (NINSH), who described the scale of casualties during the July-August 2024 mass uprising.
Appearing before the three-member bench headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumder, Dr Rahman said that 167 seriously injured protesters had been admitted to NINSH during the crackdown. “Most of them had their skulls shattered,” he told the tribunal.
He reported that 575 others with bullet and pellet wounds were treated at the hospital’s outpatient department but could not be admitted due to a shortage of beds. “Many of them should have been hospitalised, but we could not accommodate them because the number of critical cases was overwhelming,” he said.
Of those admitted, four were brought in dead while 29 died during treatment. Seven critically injured patients were later transferred to Thailand for specialised care.
Dr Rahman stated that he personally performed 33 operations, removing around 15 bullets and pellets. Some could not be extracted, while others were later removed by patients themselves.
The physician also alleged that law enforcement attempted to interfere with hospital admissions.
He testified that on 19 July, as casualties mounted, officers from the Detective Branch pressured doctors not to admit new gunshot victims and not to discharge those already in care, claiming higher orders had been issued and legal action would follow. To avoid restrictions, he said, medical staff altered registers to record gunshot wounds as road accident injuries or other causes.
Dr Rahman concluded his testimony by urging the tribunal to impose the death penalty on those he held responsible, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, and former state minister for information and broadcasting Mohammad A Arafat.
Following his deposition and cross-examination, senior staff nurse Shahanaz Parveen also gave evidence before the tribunal.
Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam, along with prosecutors Mizanul Islam and Gazi MH Tamim, appeared for the state. State-appointed defence counsel Amir Hossain represented the absconding accused Hasina and Kamal, while lawyer Zayed Bin Amjad appeared on behalf of former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who has already confessed to involvement.
On 10 July, ICT-1 framed charges of crimes against humanity against Hasina, Kamal, and Al-Mamun, formally beginning the trial. Hasina also faces two additional cases at the tribunals-one relating to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during her 15-year tenure, and another concerning the deadly 2013 Shapla Chattar crackdown on Hefazat-e-Islam activists.
According to prosecution documents, during the July-August 2024 uprising, state forces, ruling party activists, and allied sections of the administration carried out widespread killings and abuses against students and civilians. Proceedings over these alleged crimes continue at two international crimes tribunals in Dhaka.