Crimes Against Humanity: Complaints filed at tribunal against 25 businessmen

Staff Reporter :

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement has filed complaints with the International Crimes Tribunal against 25 top businessmen, including Salman F Rahman, for taking a stance in support of the Hasina government during the July Revolution. On Tuesday, the organization’s president, Rifat Rashid, submitted the complaints to the Chief Prosecutor of the tribunal.

After receiving the complaints, Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim said at the tribunal premises, “We have received the complaints. Allegations have been submitted against 25 businessmen, including Salman F Rahman. In addition, complaints have been filed against another 200 unidentified individuals. After review, these will be forwarded very soon to the tribunal’s investigation agency.”

According to the complaints, during the July Revolution, on July 22, 2024, amid an internet shutdown, a group of businessmen led by Salman F Rahman gathered at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka and pledged to assist Sheikh Hasina in suppressing the movement and to stand by her in all respects. Their statements clearly revealed a conspiracy to keep the fascist and illegitimate government in power.

The complaints further state that at the meeting led by Salman F Rahman, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan said that everyone must unite to overcome the situation. He remarked that BNP and Jamaat had done similar things before, and if they had been tried at that time, they would not have dared to do such acts today.

He added that he sometimes felt a curfew should have been imposed earlier, and that an earlier curfew would have been better. He said he knew the Prime Minister did not want to be so strict but had been compelled to do so, and that in this situation businessmen should remain patient rather than impatient.

Akbar Sobhan further said that he reflected on where he himself had been 14 years ago and urged others to do the same. He stated that even if their businesses were shut down for the next 7 days, 15 days, or even a month due to the curfew or internet shutdown, it would not harm them.

However, he said, the “terrorist and militant forces” must be destroyed, and for that everyone must be united. He added that as long as the Prime Minister was in office, she would lead everyone forward and no one would be able to do anything.

He acknowledged that the internet shutdown was causing hardship for everyone, including himself, but said that over the past 14 years he had risen “14 times higher.”

Therefore, he urged everyone to accept the hardship easily and said they had faith and trust in their leader, which would remain until death and even after death. Hearing these remarks, everyone present at the meeting applauded in agreement.

At one stage of the meeting, Mahbub Alam said that they had not come to the Prime Minister with any demands. He stated that she had already given them many things and that they had nothing more to ask for.

He said that three crore (30 million) businessmen from Teknaf to Tetulia wanted to say one thing only: that they had always been with her, were still with her, and would remain with her in the future.

In his speech, SM Mannan Kochi said that he could not imagine that in the name of a movement, such destruction of the country’s assets could take place in independent Bangladesh. He said the metro rail and expressways had been destroyed in this way.

Using the student movement as a shield, he alleged, anti-independence conspirators from BNP and Jamaat had brought terrorists from across the country to Dhaka to carry out a campaign of destruction, with the aim of killing Hasina. He said they wanted to reassure the Prime Minister that they stood by her and would protect her even at the cost of their lives.

At the meeting, Nazrul Islam Mazumder said that businessmen from all walks of life, as well as the chairpersons and managing directors of all banks, were present at the gathering. He claimed that the entire hall had been filled with just a one-minute phone call.

He said the main objective of the movement had been to kill Hasina and that it was an organized crime. He added that it was not sufficient to rely solely on law enforcement agencies and that everyone must collectively resist it. He reiterated a pledge to the Prime Minister, saying that they had been with her, were with her, and would continue to remain with her.

The complaints concluded with a request for appropriate action to be taken following a fair investigation against the accused.

The accused are, Salman Fazlur Rahman, Mahbub Alam, S M Mannan Kochi, Mohammad Saiful Alam, Nazrul Islam Mozumdar, Md. Helal Uddin, Md. Hatem, Nasim Manjur, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan (Shah Alam), Md. Sunny, A K Azad, Anwar Parvez, Abdul Motaleb, Bazlur Rahman, Preeti Chakma, Habibullah Don, Zahirul Islam, Mohammad Saiful Alam, B M Yusuf Ali, Mostafa Kamal, Mohammad Ali Khokon, Abu Yusuf Abdullah, Obaidul Karim, A H M Mostafa Kamal.