Hasina, 2 others formally charged at ICT

The prosecution has filed formal charges with the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others in connection with crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the mass uprising of July–August last year.

The two other accused are former Home Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam submitted the charges at the Registrar’s Office of the tribunal on Sunday, naming Sheikh Hasina as the chief instigator of the nationwide massacre that occurred across the country during July and August of last year.

Before the filing of these formal charges against Sheikh Hasina, a separate set of charges had already been submitted over the killing of six individuals in the capital’s Chankharpul area on May 25. With this, two sets of charges have now been formally filed.

Following the fall of the Awami League government amid a mass uprising on August 5 last year, the tribunal was reconstituted. The first case filed at the restructured tribunal was a miscellaneous one against Sheikh Hasina, accusing her of crimes against humanity during the uprising.

In addition to this case, two more cases are currently pending against Sheikh Hasina at the tribunal. One accuses her of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the 15 and a half years of Awami League rule. The other pertains to the killings during Hefajat-e-Islam’s rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel, Dhaka.