In a startling revelation before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1), Nahid Islam, Convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), testified that Nobel laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus was formally offered to lead the interim government in the days leading up to the fall of Sheikh Hasina.
Nahid, appearing as the 47th witness in the case charging Sheikh Hasina and three others with “superior responsibility” for alleged crimes against humanity, made the disclosure during his second and final day of testimony which ran from 11:15 am to 1:15 pm, with cross-examination scheduled to resume in the afternoon.
Speaking to journalists outside the tribunal after his deposition, Nahid confirmed: “On August 3, we held internal discussions and seriously considered proposing Muhammad Yunus as the head of a new national government. We even used coded language, referring to it as ‘July 35’, to avoid detection.”
He added:
“Dr Yunus was directly approached and offered the role. This was part of our contingency planning as the movement intensified.”
Nahid recounted that on August 5, 2024, the student organisers held a press conference demanding the immediate release of all political prisoners and the formation of a civilian-led interim government explicitly rejecting any form of military or military-backed rule.
“We made it clear: no tanks, no generals. Only a people’s government,” he said.
In his sworn testimony, Nahid leveled grave accusations against the former government, claiming that police and law enforcement agencies, under direct orders from Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, unleashed indiscriminate violence on protesters.
“They fired live ammunition from ground positions even from helicopters. Awami League-affiliated armed cadres used locally made weapons to torture and kill demonstrators,” he alleged.
Nahid cited media reports claiming that Hasina personally ordered the use of lethal force, including aerial surveillance and suppression tactics, to “crush the movement and cling to power.”
“These were not spontaneous acts, they were planned massacres. We hold Hasina, Asaduzzman, and the heads of security forces directly responsible,” he declared, urging the tribunal to “deliver the severest punishment possible.”
Nahid detailed how organisers had originally planned a mass “March to Dhaka” for August 6, with protesters converging on the capital from across the country. But when intelligence suggested the government was preparing a nationwide crackdown, including internet blackouts, mass arrests, and possible “disappearances”, the movement’s leadership made a fateful decision.
“We moved the march forward to August 5. We knew waiting another day could mean death or detention for thousands.”
He credited Mahfuz Alam, a key student coordinator, with liaising across civil society and student groups to ensure the march’s success and confirmed that parallel talks with Dr Yunus were underway “as a contingency for government formation.”
This testimony marks the first time a political leader has publicly claimed under oath that Dr Muhammad Yunus was approached to lead a transitional government before Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.
The ICT-1 is hearing the case under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act of 1973, charging the accused with crimes against humanity for their alleged roles in suppressing the 2024 movement, which saw hundreds of deaths and thousands injured.