Hasina, Asaduzzaman ordered killing of 6 coordinators if protests not withdrawn: Asif Mahmud tells tribunal
Asif Mahmud gave a partial testimony before the tribunal today, which has set 16 October to record the rest of his statement
Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan has told the International Crimes Tribunal that in July last year, then prime minister Sheikh Hasina and home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal ordered the killing of six student coordinators if they did not announce the withdrawal of the movement after being detained by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
He said the DB later forced the student leaders to record a video message announcing the end of the movement and circulated it on social and mainstream media. Asif Mahmud made the statement while testifying as a witness in a crimes against humanity case over the killing of six student leaders at Dhaka's Chankharpul area in August last year, just before Sheikh Hasina fled the country.
Asif gave part of his deposition before the ICT-1 today (9 October). The tribunal set 16 October for the continuation of his testimony.
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Eight police officers, including former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, are accused in the case. Asif, who led the student protests in Chankharpul, gave a detailed account of the events leading up to the killings.
He described how protests spread nationwide after Abu Sayeed was shot dead by police in Rangpur on 16 July. "By 17 July, the movement was no longer just about quotas – it became a national uprising," he said.
On 18 July, students enforced a complete shutdown, during which, Asif said, police and ruling party activists opened fire across the country, killing at least 29 protesters. That night, the government allegedly imposed internet blackouts, raided homes, and began mass arrests.
He said that on 19 July, during another shutdown, "helicopters fired bullets and tear gas" at protesters, killing over a hundred nationwide. That night, plainclothes men identifying themselves as DB officers abducted him from Dhaka's Gulshan Niketan area, covering his head with a black hood. Student coordinator Nahid Islam was also picked up.
"They pressured me to record a video announcing the end of the movement. When I refused, they injected me with something that made me unconscious," he said, adding that he later realised the place of his detention was the 'Ayna Ghor' inside Dhaka Cantonment.
After being released on 24 July, he was admitted to Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital for treatment, where intelligence agents kept him under surveillance and confiscated his phone.
Asif said that while he was hospitalised, DB officers seized his phone again on 25 July and demanded he make a video calling off the movement. "When I refused, they kicked me several times and took me to the DB office the next day. Even my medication was stopped," he said.
On 26 July, he, Nahid Islam, and Abu Bakr Mojumdar were picked up again from the hospital by the DB. "On 28 July night, DB chief Harun led a team that forced six of us coordinators to record a video withdrawing the movement. They gave us a written statement and made us read it. Harun said the prime minister and home minister had ordered our killing if we refused," Asif told the tribunal.
He said the coordinators were released from DB custody 32 hours later after staging a hunger strike.
Asif further said that on 5 August, while leading a procession towards Shahbagh, he witnessed police and APBn members open fire indiscriminately on protesters at Chankharpul, killing six people, including student leader Anas.
He held Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former IGP Habibur Rahman, Awami League leaders, and members of the police and APBn responsible for the killings.
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 formally framed charges in the case on 14 July against eight accused, including former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman.
Of them, four – former Shahbagh police OC (operation) Md Arshad Hossain, constables Md Sujon Mia, Md Imaje Hossain Iman, and Md Nasirul Islam – have been arrested.
The absconding accused are former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, former joint commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakrabarty, former ADC (Ramna zone) Shah Alam Md Akhtarul Islam, and former assistant commissioner (Ramna zone) Mohammad Imrul.
Earlier, on 11 August, Shahriar Khan Palash, father of slain student leader Anas, testified as the first witness in the case after chief prosecutor Mohammad Tazul Islam's opening statement.
