Then-IGP Javed advised ballot stuffing in 2018; Hasina ordered using lethal weapons during uprising: Ex-IGP Mamun
‘Core committee’ decided to detain SAD coordinators during July Uprising
Former inspector general of police (IGP) Javed Patwari advised ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to fill 50% of the ballot boxes the night before the 2018 national elections, former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun revealed at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) today (2 September).
Mamun, who was the police chief during the July uprising, made the statements in his deposition before the International Crimes Tribunal-1, led by Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumder.
He also told the Tribunal that the decision to use lethal weapons, shoot from helicopters, and conduct block raids to suppress the July Uprising was taken under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina.
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The instruction to use lethal weapons came from Sheikh Hasina herself, he said yesterday while testifying as a state witness in a crimes against humanity case against Hasina and two others.
Mamun said the order was carried out under the leadership of former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, while former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman Habib and DB chief Harun-or-Rashid were overly enthusiastic about using deadly weapons.
'Core committee' to suppress the uprising
In his deposition, Mamun said the coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD) were arrested and forced to withdraw from the movement following a decision taken at a core committee meeting.
"From 19 July, core committee meetings were held almost every night at the residence of then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan in Dhanmondi. During these meetings, directives were given on suppressing the movement and other instructions on behalf of the government," he said.
He added that the core committee included himself, then home secretary Jahangir Alam, former additional secretaries Tipu Sultan and Reza Mostofa, former head of the Police Special Branch Monirul Islam, DMP's ex-DB chief Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid, former RAB director general Harun-ar-Rashid, former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, BGB director general Major General Mohammad
Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, then director general of Bangladesh Ansar and VDP Major General AKM Aminul Haque, former NTMC director general Major General Ziaul Ahsan, and the then heads of DGFI and NSI.
"At one of these core committee meetings, it was decided to arrest the student coordinators," said Mamun, who himself is an accused in the case.
The proposal was made by DGFI, Mamun continued, saying, "I initially opposed it, but under the instruction of the home minister, I agreed."
The responsibility for the arrests was assigned to former DB chief Harun, he said. "Following the home minister's decision, the DGFI and DB carried out the arrests, with the coordinators being taken into DB custody."
Mamun further stated that the coordinators were brought to DB headquarters and pressured to negotiate with the government. Their relatives were also brought to the DB to exert pressure.
"The coordinators were forced to withdraw from the movement and issue statements on television," he said, adding that former DB chief Harun played a leading role in this process.
He also revealed that the then home minister Asaduzzaman used to refer to Harun as 'the genie' for his ability to implement any government decision effectively.
The judicial panel of International Crimes Tribunal-01, chaired by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumder recorded Mamun's testimony from 11:50am to 1:30pm yesterday in a case regarding crimes against humanity committed during the July-August period.
The accused in the case include former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun. Mamun, who was initially an accused, is now testifying as a state witness. At the time of the July movement, Mamun was serving as the Chief of Police.
Mamun stated in his deposition that two groups had formed within the police force under the leadership of former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman and former Special Branch chief Monirul Islam.
The former IGP stated that after the 2018 elections, political influence within the police force increased even further. Certain officers became known as highly influential figures, maintaining direct communication with senior Awami League leaders.
He said these officers used to hold meetings almost every night at the residence of former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
Among the participants were former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, former DB chief Harun-ur-Rashid, SB's Monirul Islam, former Dhaka DIG Nurul Islam, former Additional DIG Biplob Kumar and several others. Some of them even had direct communication with former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
State witness Mamun testified that because of their direct access to the top levels of government, these officers did not follow the chain of command.
'RAB had secret detention centres'
In his testimony, Mamun stated that there was a secret detention centre called TIF under RAB-1, and similar facilities existed in other RAB units. People with opposing political views or those considered threats to the government were brought there, he added.
He further said that these instructions came from the Prime Minister's Office, sometimes directly from Tarique Siddiqui, former defence and security adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Detentions at "Aynaghar" and killings in so-called crossfire incidents were carried out by RAB's additional deputy commissioner (Operations) and the director of Intelligence.
Mamun also gave testimony about the "Gopalganj syndicate" within the police.
Earlier, 35 witnesses – including wounded individuals from the July movement, family members of the deceased, and doctors – had testified against Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. The prosecution expects to complete witness hearings in the case within this month.
