Prosecution pleads for indicting Joy, Palak in crimes against humanity case

The prosecution at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 on Sunday pleaded to frame charges in a crimes against humanity case against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's son and former ICT affairs adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy and state minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam took part in the hearing this morning. At the end of Sunday’s hearing, the tribunal adjourned the hearing till 15 January. The defence is scheduled to argue for their discharge petition on that day.

Palak’s counsel, Liton Ahmed and state-defence counsel for fugitive Sajeeb Wazed Joy, advocate Manjur Alam, were present at the court during Sunday’s hearing.

On 4 December, the tribunal issued an arrest warrant against Joy after taking into cognisance the formal charge brought against Joy and Palak.

According to the formal charge, Joy and Palak are accused of shutting down nationwide internet services during the July Uprising, allegedly facilitating the commission of crimes against humanity.

"Palak, being the state minister for the ICT Division at the time, gave a status and made a post on his verified Facebook account after getting approval from prime minister Sheikh Hasina's ICT affairs adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, thereby instigating unprecedented attacks on agitating students and people by police and Chhatra League cadres," the prosecution said.

Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam said Palak, following the order and approval from Joy, first reduced the speed of mobile internet services and subsequently shut them down to create an opportunity to detain, torture and kill the protesters.

"He then gave a false statement regarding the internet shutdown and later blocked several social networking sites, including WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok, to keep the world in the dark about the horrific crimes taking place at the time. The conspiracy to block the internet originated from Sajeeb Wazed Joy. He made the decision after taking advice from his mother, Sheikh Hasina, and Palak executed the decision," the prosecution added.

The tribunal's investigation agency submitted the probe report against the accused on 3 December 2025.