July atrocities: ICT accepts formal charges, orders arrest of Hasina, Kamal

Highlights:

• Formal charges filed against Hasina, ex-home minister Kamal, ex-IGP Mamun
• Tribunal takes charges into cognisance, next hearing on 16 June
• Orders to arrest Hasina and Kamal and produce them before it
• Hasina accused of ordering killings; five key allegations made
• Prosecutors to submit video, audio, and forensic evidence
• 81 witnesses listed in a 2,018-page document
• Court hears 145-page excerpt during proceedings broadcast live for the first time

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has taken into cognisance the formal charges against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and two others filed by the prosecution in a case over crimes against humanity committed during the mass uprising in July-August of last year.

The other two accused are former home affairs minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

The tribunal today (1 June) also ordered authorities concerned to arrest fugitive accused Hasina and Kamal and produce them before the court. 

The next hearing has been scheduled for 16 June.

Earlier in the day, the ICT prosecution team submitted the formal charges in the case against the trio. The hearing was broadcast live, a first in the tribunal's history, on Bangladesh Television and the tribunal's Facebook page.

ICT Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam presented the final section, which included the basic charges. Prior to that, Prosecutor Mizanul Islam presented the first part of the charge sheet, and Prosecutor Abdus Sobhan Talukder presented additional portions.

According to the prosecution, there are five specific allegations against the accused. A total of 81 witnesses have been named. The charge documents comprise 2,018 pages across five volumes. A 145-page excerpt was presented during the hearing.

Following the filing of charges, Tajul conducted the hearing and addressed the court, saying, "This trial is not revenge for the past, it is a promise for the future. This court bears witness to a time that will remain a document in history.

"We want this trial to be neutral, evidence-based, and just."

Tajul also informed the court that the prosecution would present several forms of evidence in support of the charges.

These include recorded video testimonies of eyewitnesses and living victims, drone and CCTV footage, audio call records of conversations among the accused, forensic reports of digital evidence, confessionary statements, images and video clips circulated through mass and social media, and documentaries aired both nationally and internationally.

Lawyers have said that the live broadcast of the hearing marks a new chapter for the judiciary by promoting transparency. They noted that such broadcasting poses no legal barrier and may help strengthen public confidence in the process.

Previously, on 12 May, the tribunal's investigation agency submitted its report to the Chief Prosecutor's Office, naming Hasina as the instigator of the killings during the uprising that toppled her government.

On 18 February, a three-member ICT bench, led by its Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mazumdar, had ordered the investigation to be completed by 20 April following a prosecution plea for additional time.

Additional Chief Prosecutor Mizanul Islam had represented the prosecution during that hearing.

The prosecution described the charges as marking the first formal case in the tribunal involving senior figures of the former Awami League government.

Meanwhile, an explosion of "crude bomb-looking firecrackers" occurred in front of the gate of the ICT before the prosecution team filed the formal charges, according to media reports.

Shahbag Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Khalid Mansur told the media that the incident happened between 5:30am and 6am this morning.

"This incident happened on the footpath in front of the gate of the ICT. However, the bomb did not contain the materials typically found inside crude bombs," said OC Khalid.

'Coordinated extermination plan'

The prosecution of the ICT in the formal charge dubbed the then Hasina government's attack on "freedom-loving students and people" from 1 July to 5 August 2024, as "coordinated extermination plan".

"The accused in their bid to eliminate the freedom-loving student-people carried out widespread and systematic attacks on them using the whole state-mechanism. After analysing the evidence presented and images published in the media, we found that it was a 'coordinated extermination plan', which was 'widespread' and 'systematic'," said Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam while mentioning the 134-page formal charge before the ICT-1.

The prosecution submitted the formal charge, bringing five charges against the accused.

Charge 1: Hasina incited crimes against humanity at a 14 July 2024 press briefing, failing to prevent murder, attempted murder, torture, and other inhuman acts, with Kamal and Mamun's complicity.

Charge 2: Hasina ordered the use of helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons to kill protesters, with Kamal and Mamun implementing these orders through their command of law enforcement.

Charge 3: On 16 July 2024, law enforcement and armed Awami League activists shot Abu Sayeed at close range near Begum Rokeya University, following Hasina's orders.

Charge 4: On 5 August 2024, six people were shot dead in the Chankharpul area by law enforcement and ruling party militants under a coordinated attack plan.

Charge 5: On 5 August 2024, six protesters were shot dead near Ashulia Police Station, with five bodies burned and one victim set alight alive, all allegedly under the defendants' orders and knowledge.