Obaidul Quader, 6 others sentenced to death

The International Crimes Tribunal on Tuesday sentenced Awami League General Secretary and former minister Obaidul Quader to death for crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 July Uprising, in the seventh verdict handed down by the tribunals since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.

Six other senior leaders of the Awami League and its youth and student wings were also sentenced to death for their roles in the deadly crackdown on protesters.

They are Awami League Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim; former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat; Jubo League President Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash and General Secretary Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil; and Chhatra League President Saddam Hossain and General Secretary Wali Asif Inan.

The verdict was delivered by a three-member panel of International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, with Judge Md Manjurul Basid and Judge Noor Mohammad Shahriar Kabir. Alongside the death sentences, the tribunal ordered the confiscation of 50 percent of the seven convicts’ assets, directing that the proceeds be used to benefit those affected by the uprising.

All seven defendants remain fugitives. Because they are absconding, the tribunal had appointed state-funded lawyers to represent them during the trial.

Prosecutors had sought the maximum punishment for all seven, arguing that they had coordinated and incited attacks on protesters and planned violence to suppress the movement, and that they had facilitated the use of lethal force in a crackdown that led to killings and attempted killings across the country.

The case rested on four formal charges: issuing coordinated directives and incitement to suppress the uprising; planning violence at meetings; involvement in the use of lethal weapons, indiscriminate force and restrictions on internet services; and killings and attempted killings that prosecutors said amounted to crimes against humanity.

This is the seventh verdict delivered by Bangladesh’s reconstituted war crimes tribunals since August 5, 2024, when Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid the mass uprising.

The two tribunals had previously ruled on six other cases, including those involving Hasina herself, the Chankharpul killings, the Ashulia killings, the killing of former lawmaker Inu, and the shooting of a protester who was seen hanging from a cornice in Rampura.

Closing arguments in the Quader case concluded on August 17, after prosecutors and defence lawyers presented their final submissions over several days.

Audio recordings at the centre of the prosecution’s case
Prosecutors built much of their case around what they described as audio evidence, backed by forensic analysis, documenting how Quader and his co-accused directed the crackdown from the highest levels of the party and the government.

The prosecution called 29 witnesses in total and submitted recordings of several conversations involving Quader during the uprising.

Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim told the tribunal that plans and conspiracies to kill protesters had been discussed at various government meetings during the uprising, and that audio and video evidence submitted at trial supported the prosecution’s case.

He said Quader had issued instructions to shoot protesters on sight, which he argued led to indiscriminate firing and the deaths of numerous people through August 5.

Among the recordings presented was a call prosecutors said Quader made to Chhatra League President Saddam Hossain and General Secretary Wali Asif Inan on July 11, 2024.

In the recording, Quader is heard demanding to know why the two leaders had not confronted the protesters.

Saddam is heard telling Quader that police had instructed Chhatra League members not to engage, saying they had been repeatedly told to stay away from Shahbagh and other areas.

When Quader asked who had given that order, Inan named the police and an official identified as “Biplab da.” Quader responded that the official should not have issued such an instruction.

Prosecutors argued that Quader’s intervention in the call encouraged Chhatra League leaders and activists to move against the protesters.

A second recording concerned restrictions on internet access as the protests intensified.

Prosecutors said the conversation showed Quader instructing then-State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak to slow down internet services, telling him to seek approval from “the leader” – a reference to then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina – before doing so.

The prosecution said the measure was subsequently approved by Hasina and carried out by Palak.

The case also included allegations that Chhatra League members were directed to attack students and other protesters, that television broadcasts were ordered switched off when they showed footage of the unrest, and that abductions were carried out through the then-chief of the police Detective Branch, Harun.

Defence disputes command responsibility
State-appointed defence lawyer M Hasan Imam argued that a shoot-on-sight order had been issued to protect lives and property, and said three of his clients did not hold positions from which they could command security forces or other personnel.

He told the tribunal that his clients had neither killed anyone nor ordered anyone to be killed, and that responsibility for the instructions lay with a single individual.

Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam rejected that argument, telling the tribunal that the prosecution had proved all four charges against the seven defendants and that their offences were grave.

He said the accused bore responsibility for the killing and wounding of large numbers of people during the July-August uprising and should face exemplary punishment.

Prosecutors urged the tribunal to show no leniency and to impose the maximum sentence on each defendant.

Witness account
Among those who testified was Sharif Osman Hadi, who gave investigators a detailed account of the defendants’ alleged roles during the uprising, describing attacks he said he had witnessed and identifying where and when protesters were attacked and who allegedly opened fire.

Hadi told investigators he had received death threats from numerous telephone numbers and had filed a police complaint over the threats at Shahbagh police station.

“If they are not brought to justice quickly, it is unimaginable how much mass killing Awami terrorists could carry out in the future,” Hadi said in his statement to investigators. “If they are not brought to justice, the July mass uprising will remain in question.”