ICT moves ahead with July uprising, Shapla Chattar trials

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) saw a fresh round of proceedings on Wednesday, with the prosecution submitting formal charges against eight people over attacks on Dhaka University students during the 2024 mass uprising, while hearings in other major cases, including the 2013 Shapla massacre and 2024 Uttara killings, also advanced.
The prosecution submitted formal charges against eight individuals, including former Dhaka University vice-chancellor Professor Dr Md Maksud Kamal and writer Professor Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, over the attacks on students during the uprising.
The other accused are DU Professor AKM Jamal Uddin; former Appellate Division judge Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik; banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) President Saddam Hussain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Enan; DU BCL President Mazharul Kabir Shayan and General Secretary Tanbir Hasan Shaikat.
Manik, Jamal and Shaikat are in custody, while the others are absconding.
ICT Prosecutor Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim said investigative findings confirmed the direct or indirect involvement of the accused in suppressing student protesters. ICT-1 will now hear the charges and proceed with the next stages of the case.
Meanwhile, ICT-2, headed by Chairman Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, fixed 7 October for the charge-framing hearing against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 40 others over crimes against humanity linked to the 2013 Shapla Chattar killings.
Eleven arrested accused were produced before the tribunal, including former ministers Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Dr Dipu Moni and Hasanul Haq Inu, and former IGP AKM Shahidul Hoque.

As 30 accused, including Sheikh Hasina, failed to surrender despite public notices, the tribunal accepted the prosecution’s plea to proceed in absentia and appoint state defence counsel.
Investigations found that at least 58 people were killed in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Chattogram and Cumilla during the crackdown on Hefazat-e-Islam’s rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel on 5 May 2013. The prosecution had earlier submitted formal charges against 41 accused, which the tribunal took cognisance of on 27 July.
In another case, the prosecution filed formal charges against five people over the enforced disappearance and killing of Abu Hossain Al Amin, principal of Ibn Masud Madrasa in Gazipur.
Among them are former chief of the DMP’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit Asaduzzaman and former additional deputy commissioner Ishtiak Ahmed.
According to the investigation report, Al Amin was taken from the madrasa on 30 January 2023 by a group identifying themselves as DB members. He was later taken to the CTTC office on Minto Road, where he was allegedly held and tortured. After 18 days, he became seriously ill and later died at Central Police Hospital, the report said.
It further alleged that his body was disposed of in the Dhaleshwari River from Tulsikhali Bridge in Keraniganj to conceal his death.
Meanwhile, the tribunal deferred until 23 September its order on framing charges against 26 accused over the killing of 11 people, including Bangladesh University of Professionals student Meer Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdha, in Uttara during the 2024 mass uprising.
The prosecution completed arguments seeking charge framing, while defence lawyers sought discharge of the accused.
Mugdha was shot on 18 July 2024 while helping injured protesters reach hospitals and distributing water and biscuits in Uttara’s Sector-3. He was taken to Uttara Crescent Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
The case names 28 accused, including police personnel and local Awami League leaders. Eight are in custody and 18 are fugitives.
The prosecution alleges that 11 people were killed in Uttara on 18 and 19 July 2024, including Mugdha and several others on 18 July and four more people the following day.

ICT summons two lawyers for remarks on Quader trial
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has summoned two Supreme Court lawyers for their contemptuous remarks about the tribunal’s verdict sentencing Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and six others to death for crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 mass uprising.
The three-member ICT-2, headed by its Chairman Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, issued the order on Wednesday following an initial hearing on a prosecution petition.
The tribunal directed the two lawyers – M Hasanuzzaman Tushar and Mohammad Hasan Chowdhury – to appear before it on 23 September to explain their remarks.
ICT Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim said the two lawyers had posted comments on Facebook about the verdict delivered a day earlier that the prosecution considered contemptuous of the tribunal.
According to the prosecution, Hasanuzzaman shared a news report about the verdict on Facebook, describing the tribunal as an “illegal kangaroo court” and the verdict as fabricated and baseless. He rejected the verdict and said “everything will be settled on the streets”.
On the other hand, Mohammad Hasan commented on the post, similarly describing the tribunal as a “kangaroo court” and rejecting what he called an “illegal and dictated” verdict.
Citing Section 11(4) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, Tamim said anyone who obstructs the tribunal’s proceedings, threatens someone involved in them or commits contempt of court can face up to a year in prison and a fine.
The ICT-2 on Tuesday sentenced former transport minister Quader and six other senior figures of the party, including its youth and student wings, to death for orchestrating mass killings during the student-led uprising in 2024.

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