Shariful Islam

Smiles, whispers, and uneasy silence as 16 former ministers and high officials brought to ICT-1

The prosecution yesterday formally charged 28 people, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 23 top and mid-ranking current and former army officers, at International Crimes Tribunal-1 in two cases of enforced disappearances, secret detention, and torture in the 15 years of her rule.

Those accused in cases filed with the International Crimes Tribunal will not be able to hold or run for public office once formal charges are pressed against them.

Four senior Awami League leaders, including former law minister Anisul Huq and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s former adviser Salman F Rahman, may soon be formally charged with crimes against humanity in connection with the July uprising, according to the prosecution.

The move comes around five months before the country is expected to go to the national election in which OCs will play a key role in maintaining law and order.

A police officer told the International Crimes Tribunal-2 yesterday that he was forced by a senior officer to conceal pellet injuries in the inquest report of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayed, who was killed in Rangpur at the beginning of the July uprising.

In a dramatic testimony before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday, former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun said the mass killings during last year’s July uprising were carried out on direct orders of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina and home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

The father of Abu Sayed, a student of Begum Rokeya University (BRU) in Rangpur who was killed in police firing on July 16 last year, yesterday appealed to the International Crimes Tribunal-2 to ensure justice for his son before his own death.

In an audio conversation on July 14 last year with then Dhaka University vice-chancellor ASM Maksud Kamal, deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina likened the protesters to “Razakars” and said they would meet the same fate as those executed for 1971 war crimes.

The trial of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her two top aides began yesterday at the International Crimes Tribunal-1, with a testimony from the first prosecution witness, a survivor of police atrocities during the 2024 July uprising.

Law enforcers have managed to arrest only 73 out of the 206 accused after the ICT issued warrants for their arrests

The formation of an independent police commission now appears highly unlikely under the current government, as the home ministry has excluded the proposal from its action plan for the coming year.

ICT prosecutor hints

The home ministry plans to carry out a series of police reforms over the next six months to enhance transparency and accountability within the force and curb corruption and human rights violations by law enforcers.

Shilpi Begum’s life changed forever when her only son, Mehedi Hasan, was shot dead during a protest last July.

Almost 10 months after the fall of her regime, Sheikh Hasina and her two top aides were charged with five counts of crimes against humanity yesterday.

On November 3, 1971, while the nation was fighting for independence, another battle took place at the Guptakhali canal in Chattogram. A nearby fire station was informed that a fire had broken out on an oil tanker carrying 1,000 tonnes of kerosene and 30 tonnes of gasoline.

A ruckus broke out at the International Crimes Tribunal yesterday as some of the 19 high-profile accused, including former ministers and senior bureaucrats, were brought into the courtroom in handcuffs.

There are several parts of Dhaka city where, if you travel through the roads and alleyways by a rickshaw or an auto-rickshaw, you will experience a jerky ride, as many streets remain unrepaired for months after being dug up by utility service providers.

In Dhaka, it was the law enforcers who turned on the people they were supposed to protect. It was the law enforcers who preyed upon protesters during the July uprising. But in Chattogram, it was different. The killers were not in uniform. They came clad in helmets and masks, guns ablaze. And now investigators say they have the names of the suspects.