Crimes against humanity: ICT chief prosecutor seeks death penalty for Hasina and Kamal
Tajul Islam, however, left the matter of punishment for former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who testified as a state witness in the case, to the discretion of the court.
The prosecution team of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has concluded its arguments in a crimes against humanity case linked to last year's July Uprising, seeking the maximum penalty — the death sentence — for ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
ICT Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam presented the application before the judicial panel led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar of ICT-1 today (16 October), following five consecutive days of hearings.
In the application, Tajul, however, left the matter of punishment for former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who testified as a state witness in the case, to the discretion of the court.
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Tajul stated, "During the July Uprising, 1,400 student-people were killed. If a person is given the death sentence once for killing one person, then Sheikh Hasina should be hanged 1,400 times for the murder of 1,400 people."
"Since this is not legally possible, we are asking for the maximum penalty for crimes against humanity. If she is given this punishment, the people of the country will get justice," he said.
A 'hard-nut criminal'
Later, while speaking to the press, Tajul stated that the ousted prime minister continued to threaten the lives of activists from India even after fleeing Bangladesh and vowed to burn the homes of those who filed cases seeking justice.
"This shows that even after committing these crimes against humanity and orchestrating so many murders, she has no remorse.
"She has adopted the role of a hard-nut criminal," said the chief prosecutor.
"Since she was the 'queen bee' [mastermind] behind all the crimes committed by the accused in this tribunal case, it is appropriate under the law to give her the ultimate punishment. To not give her the extreme penalty would be an injustice," he said.
Kamal, the second-in command
The chief prosecutor alleged that former home minister Kamal was a member of a "Gang of Four", stating, "The planning for these killings was hatched at his house. Decisions were made there to deploy drones and fire lethal weapons from helicopters.
"He [Kamal] personally went to the ground to ensure the killings were executed correctly and was shown videos. He was the second in the command structure."
For these reasons, the prosecution sought the death penalty for Kamal, Tajul added.
The prosecution also asked the court to order that compensation be paid to the families of those killed and injured from the assets of the accused, arguing that the martyrs and victims often were or may have become the primary providers for their families.
