Hasina did not trust party men or officials; monitored calls through NTMC: Prosecution

Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina did not trust key figures in her party or government and used the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC) to monitor their phone communications, the prosecution told the International Crimes Tribunal-2 today (9 August).

Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim made the allegation while presenting arguments for the third consecutive day in the case against seven senior leaders of the now-banned Awami League, including its general secretary Obaidul Quader, over alleged crimes against humanity during the 2024 July Uprising.

Tamim said Hasina had appointed then-Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan as head of the NTMC and used the agency to record phone calls.

"She certainly did not submit her own phone calls to the NTMC. But we have obtained numerous phone calls through this organisation," Tamim told reporters after the hearing.

He said the phone number of a person who spoke with Hasina was monitored by the NTMC, meaning calls that person subsequently had with others could also be recorded.

Calls between Hasina and those individuals were also captured, he added.

The prosecution presented 14 such conversations before the tribunal, all of which, Tamim said, had been verified through forensic examinations by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

At today's hearing, the prosecution played two conversations involving Quader and former ICT state minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Youth League President Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash separately.

It also presented excerpts from several other conversations involving senior Awami League and Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders.

Tamim said a conversation between Quader and Palak, which has already been admitted as documentary evidence, showed that Quader ordered restrictions on internet services on 16 July 2024, and that Palak implemented the order after obtaining Hasina's approval.

The government subsequently ordered the shutdown of 3G and 4G services at 59 universities from 6pm that day, he said. Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok and several other social media platforms were also blocked during the protests.

The prosecution described the restrictions as part of a broader "system crime".

Tamim also referred to a United Nations report that, he said, found that injured protesters who went to hospitals for treatment were arrested during the crackdown.

The prosecutor further alleged that three people, including Wasim, were shot dead by Awami League leaders in Chattogram on 16 July 2024 shortly after a conversation between Quader and then-Chattogram mayor AJM Nasir Uddin.

He said conversations involving Hasina, Quader and then foreign minister Hasan Mahmud also showed efforts to portray protesters as "terrorists", "militants", BNP-Jamaat activists and "religious activists".

The prosecutor also cited a conversation attributed to Hasina in which she allegedly instructed party activists to burn the homes and businesses of protesters in retaliation.

Tamim said the call records also showed several Awami League leaders and activists instructing their subordinates to use lethal weapons and helicopters to fire on protesters during the uprising.

Another conversation presented to the tribunal allegedly showed Quader discussing with a party joint general secretary how to mobilise money for Awami League activists across the country to counter the movement and attack protesters, including where the money would come from and how it would be collected, Tamim added.

The prosecution concluded its third day of arguments before the three-member Tribunal-2 bench headed by Justice Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury.