July atrocities: Hanif charged with crimes against humanity

The prosecution yesterday pressed formal charges before the ICT-2 against Awami League joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif and three other party leaders in a crimes against humanity case over the killing of six people in Kushtia during the July uprising.

The tribunal fixed today to decide whether to take the charges into cognisance.

Hanif's co-accused are Kushtia district AL president and former zilla parishad chairman Sadruddin Khan, district AL general secretary Azgar Ali, and Kushtia city AL general secretary Ataur Rahman Ata. All four are on the run.

Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters that three specific charges have been brought against Hanif, a former lawmaker from Kushtia-3, including allegations of command responsibility.

The prosecution told the three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, that it has sufficient evidence against the accused and will submit all relevant documents in support of the charges.

Meanwhile, the ICT-1 yesterday sent former AL lawmaker Jannat Ara Henry and two other party leaders to jail in a case filed over the killing of three protesters in Sirajganj during the uprising.

Besides, the tribunal granted a three-month extension to the prosecution for submitting the investigation report against Maj Gen (forcibly retd) Ziaul Ahsan in a case filed over enforced disappearances committed during the 15-year rule of the AL government.