Abu Sayed killing: Tribunal to deliver verdict today

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 is set to deliver its verdict today in the crimes against humanity case over the killing of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR) student Abu Sayed during the July 2024 uprising.

The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, fixed the date on March 5 after the prosecution and the defence concluded their arguments in the case on January 28.

Thirty people, including former BRUR vice-chancellor Hasibur Rashid and former Rangpur Metropolitan Police (RMP) commissioner Md Moniruzzaman, stand accused in the case. They face charges of murder, attempted murder, superior command responsibility, abetment, and complicity in crimes against humanity.

The other accused include former RMP deputy commissioner Abu Maruf Hossain; ex-additional deputy commissioner Shah Nur Alam Patwari, who was later promoted to superintendent of police; assistant commissioner Md Arifuzzaman (Kotwali zone); Tajhat Police Station OC Rabiul Islam; university’s police outpost in-charge and sub-inspector Bibhuti Bhusan Roy, and pro-Awami League Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad leader Sarwar Hossain Chandan.

Twenty-four of the accused, including former VC Hasibur and ex-RMP commissioner Moniruzzaman, are fugitives, while six are in jail.

Those who are in the prison are: former university proctor Shariful Islam, former assistant registrar Rafiul Hasan, former contractual employee of the registrar’s office Anwar Parvez, former assistant sub-inspector Amir Hossain, former constable Sujan Chandra Roy, and banned Chhatra League leader Imran Chowdhury alias Akash.

On August 5, 2025, the tribunal framed charges against all 30, detailing their alleged roles in aiding, inciting, or directly carrying out the shooting that killed Sayed, who was unarmed at the time.

That year, the prosecution submitted the formal charge on June 30, following the investigation agency’s probe report filed on June 24.

On August 27, the trial began with the deposition of Sayed’s father, Mokbul Hossain. Twenty-five prosecution witness testified in the case.

Sayed was shot dead on July 16, 2024, during a student protest in Rangpur against the quota system in government jobs.

A video showing him being shot by police with arms outstretched in defiance went viral, turning him into an icon of resistance.

His killing is widely seen as a turning point that galvanised the mass uprising, which culminated in the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s regime on August 5, 2024.