8 Uprising ICT cases: Prosecution to charge several AL veterans

The prosecution at the International Crimes Tribunal is set to file charges against around two dozen suspects, including several Awami League veterans, in eight cases over crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising in 2024.

The key figures include former ministers Amir Hossain Amu, Dipu Moni, Abdur Razzaque and Shajahan Khan; ex-state minister Kamal Ahmed Majumder; and former Supreme Court justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik. They will face charges in uprising-related cases for the first time.

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Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam told this newspaper that the prosecution has received probe reports in the eight cases against 20 to 25 people. Charges will be filed against them after the tribunal resumes proceedings on July 21 following a 20-day vacation.

Referring to the probe reports, he said the former ministers are being prosecuted mainly under the doctrine of superior command responsibility, while several others will face charges of “individual criminal responsibility” for specific killings during the uprising.

Amu, Dipu Moni, Razzaque, Shajahan, Kamal and Manik have been in custody for more than one and a half years after being shown arrested in multiple cases.

Rule 9(5) of the ICT Rules of Procedure requires investigators to complete investigations within a year when an accused is in custody. If the deadline is not met, the accused may be granted bail on conditions set by the tribunal.

In exceptional circumstances, however, the tribunal may extend both the investigation period and detention by up to six months, provided it records the reasons in writing.

Asked about the delay, Prosecutor Mizanul Islam said the timeframe mentioned in the rule is “directory” rather than mandatory, meaning it serves as a guideline, not a binding deadline.

Aminul said they will bring charges against Amu, Dipu Moni and Razzaque in a case for both command responsibility and individual responsibility for specific killings during the uprising.

Charges will also be filed against Shajahan over the killing of three people in Madaripur under the doctrine of superior responsibility, and against Majumder in another uprising-related case for superior command responsibility.

According to a probe report in another case, Manik and several others were found to have abetted and instigated crimes against humanity during the uprising.

One of the cases involves the killing of Sheikh Ashabul Yamin, a fourth-year Computer Science and Engineering student at the Military Institute of Science and Technology, in Savar on July 18, 2024.

Video footage showed police personnel throwing the critically injured student from an armoured personnel carrier, dragging him along a road and later pushing his body over a road divider before abandoning it.

Investigators found the involvement of seven to eight people, including two police officers and two AL leaders who are in custody.

TWO HIGH-PROFILE CASES

Referring to the case over the crackdown on Hefazat-e-Islam’s Shapla Chattar rally in Dhaka, Aminul said that once the tribunal reopens, they will bring charges against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and around 30 others over the killings linked to the incident in May 2013.

He said two journalists -- Mozammel Babu, former managing director of Ekattor TV, and Farzana Rupa, former principal correspondent of the channel -- are among those named in the investigation report.

According to investigators, they played a role in influencing public perception of the crackdown through their media coverage.

“We have been assessing whether the allegations are sufficient to constitute a prima facie case,” Aminul told The Daily Star yesterday.

Both were shown arrested in the case on May 14.

Earlier on May 5, Aminul told reporters that investigators had identified 58 killings linked to the crackdown.

Another case concerns the killing of former Teknaf municipality councillor Akramul Haque, who was shot dead in what Rab described as a “gunfight” during an anti-narcotics drive on Teknaf Marine Drive Road in Cox’s Bazar on May 26, 2018.

Akramul’s widow, Ayesha Begum, has long alleged that Rab planted yaba and firearms to justify the killing. Rab refuted the allegation at that time, saying Akramul opened fire first and that drugs and weapons were recovered from the scene.

The chief prosecutor said that based on the findings of the probe report, charges will be filed against Hasina, Kamal, former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed and ex-lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi, along with seven others including serving and former members of Rab.

Currently, 24 cases are under trial at the ICT, which has so far delivered verdicts in six cases linked to the July uprising.