‘I want justice for criminals’: Father demands highest punishment for Hasina, others over son’s killing
Sheikh Jamal Hasan, father of Sheikh Mehedi Hasan Junaid alias Mostakim, who was shot dead during last year's mass uprising in the capital's Chankharpool area, has demanded the highest punishment for Sheikh Hasina and others accused.
Testifying before International Crimes Tribunal-1 today (12 August), Jamal said his son was shot dead by former Armed Police Battalion (APBn) constable Md Sujon Hossain.
According to court sources, Mostakim's father also sought punishment for former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Habibur Rahman, and others accused in connection with the killing.
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The testimony came in a case filed over crimes against humanity committed on 5 August 2024, when six people were shot dead in Chankharpool.
Today, two witnesses, including Jamal, testified. So far, three witnesses have given depositions in the case.
Of the eight accused, four were present in the tribunal. The remaining accused, including former DMP commissioner Habibur, are on the run.
Video footage of the 5 August shooting, which went viral on social media, shows APBn's former constable Sujon Hossain opening fire on protesters. During cross-examination, Jamal identified Sujon.
During the testimony, Jamal said, "Just before Hasina fled the country on 5 August, doctors at Mitford Hospital had tried to dispose of my son's body in the Buriganga River."
He alleged that the doctors told him the then prime minister had instructed that the body not be kept at the hospital and that if the family did not take it away quickly, it would be handed over to a charity or dumped into the river.
"My only son, aged 14, left home around 10:45am that day to join the movement. At 1:45pm, my brother-in-law called to inform me that Mostakim had been shot. Friends rushed him to Mitford Hospital, where doctors declared him dead," Jamal said.
Breaking down in tears, he said, "I want justice and the highest punishment for the criminals."
