Patartek killings: ICT fixes 28 Oct to hear formal charges against Hasina, 9 others
Prosecution alleges seven people were taken from across Bangladesh, held at a secret detention centre in Bogura and killed during a staged militant operation in 2016.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) today (6 October) fixed 28 October to hear arguments on framing formal charges against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and nine others over the alleged killing of seven people in Gazipur's Patartek area in 2016.
The date was fixed following a prosecution petition, Prosecutor Faruk Ahmed told reporters.
The other accused are former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal; former inspector general of police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque; former Special Branch chief Mohammad Javed Patwari; former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia; former Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit chief Monirul Islam; former Bogura police superintendent Asaduzzaman; former Gazipur police superintendent and Detective Branch chief Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid; former Bogura additional police superintendent Arifur Rahman Mondal; and former CTTC assistant police commissioner and SWAT team leader SM Jahangir Hossain.
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Shahidul Haque and Asaduzzaman Mia are currently in jail in the case following their arrests.
Speaking to reporters, Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim said the seven victims had been picked up from different parts of the country and held at a secret detention centre in Bogura.
On 8 October 2016, they were taken to the house of Solaiman Sarker in Noagaon Patartek area of Gazipur, he said.
Tamim alleged that the CTTC then staged a militant operation there, during which SWAT members shot and killed all seven. The operation was named "Operation Shoroter Tufan", he added.
He further alleged that the law enforcement agencies took action against the victims' families after the killings.
Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal allegedly warned family members who came to collect the bodies that they would also face investigation, Tamim said.
Four of the seven victims remain unidentified. The other three were identified as Ibrahim, Faridul Islam Akash and Saifur Rahman.
Following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government on 5 August 2024, Ibrahim's father filed a complaint with the International Crimes Tribunal over the killing, Tamim said.
The prosecution filed formal charges against the 10 accused on 3 February this year. Tribunal-1 subsequently took cognisance of the charges and issued arrest warrants for those who remain absconding.
On 2 August, the prosecution completed its submissions before Tribunal-1, seeking to begin the trial of the 10 accused and frame formal charges. The defence was then scheduled to make its submissions.
The case was later transferred to Tribunal-2, which was scheduled to hear arguments on framing formal charges today.
However, the prosecution sought a new date as the chief prosecutor was on leave. The tribunal then fixed 28 October for the hearing.
