Hasina gave direct orders to kill July uprising protesters, probe report finds

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina gave direct orders to kill and injure protesters during the students-led July-August uprising that eventually overthrew her government last year, a probe report submitted by the investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) found. 

Calling her the mastermind of the crimes perpetrated against the protesters, the probe brought five key charges against Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun.

The report, along with all case documents and CDs containing evidence of the crimes, was submitted to the ICT Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam today.

Tajul said there are many call recordings that prove Sheikh Hasina ordered killings of protesters.

"There are numerous call recordings in this regard where she [Hasina] gave orders for murder and even orders to cause physical harm. Additionally, specific allegations centred around three specific incidents have emerged, which will be disclosed later," Tajul said.

The prosecution team will now verify and thoroughly review the investigation report before submitting it to the ICT with the formal charge sheet.

Five allegations against Sheikh Hasina

The chief prosecutor said the investigation covered all the crimes against humanity that took place across the country during the uprising – killings, shootings that caused injuries, and setting fire to dead bodies. After investigating all these incidents, the report named Sheikh Hasina as the chief mastermind, instigator, and superior commander.

He said that initially, five key charges have been brought against Sheikh Hasina. Of these, two were revealed today, while the others will be disclosed later.

The first charge is that on 14 July, Sheikh Hasina incited and provoked crimes against humanity through a press conference. At that conference, she referred to protesting students as collaborators (razakars), children and grandchildren of collaborators. This was an incitement to commit crimes against humanity, and state forces and intelligence agencies were unleashed upon the protesting students, according to the chief prosecutor.

Alongside state forces, the Awami League, Jubo League, and Chhatra League acted as auxiliary forces and launched armed attacks on the students, resulting in killings, injuries, and crimes against humanity. Because of this incitement, Sheikh Hasina has been charged with abetment (provocation), incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy, and failure to prevent these crimes, Tajul said.

Tajul added that the second charge in the investigation report is the direct issuance of orders to commit these crimes. During the investigation, the agency seized several of Sheikh Hasina's phone conversations.

"In those conversations, she repeatedly ordered all state forces to use helicopters, drones, APCs, and lethal weapons to eliminate the unarmed, peaceful civilian population who were protesting across Bangladesh for a just cause," Tajul said.

"The agency has obtained direct evidence of these instructions and thus brought forward the second allegation against Sheikh Hasina. These include clear orders for killings, shootings, and mutilations," he clarified.

The remaining three allegations arose from specific incidents that were carried out following Sheikh Hasina's orders, including how people were killed and other atrocities committed. These have been included in the investigation report.

Tajul Islam stated that according to the information gathered in the report, during the July uprising approximately 1,500 people were killed, over 25,000 were injured by gunfire, women were subjected to targeted violence, and children were specifically killed.

After the killings, both dead bodies and living persons were set on fire. Injured people were prevented from reaching hospitals. Postmortems of the deceased were obstructed, and doctors were barred from treating the injured, he further said.

Sheikh Hasina personally visited hospitals and instructed doctors not to treat the injured. Some wounded individuals, unable to bear the pain, wanted to leave the hospital, but they were not allowed to do so, leading to infections and amputations. Evidence of all this exists against Sheikh Hasina, Tajul said.

He further said that to frame protesters, various government facilities were deliberately set on fire by their own people following instructions from Sheikh Hasina, and blame was falsely placed on the protestors. The investigation agency obtained phone conversations containing these direct instructions.

He said that those who issued death certificates, treated the over 25,000 injured, and the injured themselves will appear as witnesses in the tribunal. Families of martyrs who received and buried the bodies will also testify.

As evidence, the report includes call records, video footage, audio clips, bullets recovered from the injured and dead, flight schedules of helicopters used in the crackdown, documents from national and international organisations, and internal reports from various agencies.

He concluded by saying that maintaining international standards, a formal charge will be filed to begin the trial process.

Tajul stated that there is a nationwide demand for a swift trial. "We want to emphasise that this is not a regular trial. The trial of crimes against humanity under the International Crimes Tribunal cannot be held based on street pressure.

"That would compromise the integrity of the process. The law in this matter is extremely detailed. No matter how much pressure is applied, justice cannot be achieved unless it follows due legal process."

Previous investigation report

This was the second investigation report submitted regarding atrocities that occurred during the student-led July-August uprising, which toppled the Awami League government after 15 years in power.

Previously, on 21 April, the ICT investigation team submitted the full investigation report against eight policemen in a case of genocide and crimes against humanity related to the killing of seven students during the student protest in Dhaka's Chankharpul area on 5 August last year.

It was the first complete probe report officially submitted to the tribunal among the cases filed over the killings during the July-August uprising.

Among the accused in the Chankharpul case are former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman and seven other police officers.

Four of the accused — Inspector Arshad, Constable Md Sujon, Constable Imaaj Hossain Iman, and Constable Nasirul Islam — are currently in custody.

According to the report, the accused used lethal force on 5 August, opening fire in the Chankharpul area and killing the students, including Shahriar Khan Anas, Sheikh Mahdi Hasan Zunaid, Md Yaqoob, Md Rakib Howlader, Md Ismamul Haque, and Manik Miah Shahri.