Dhaka – Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 40 others have been charged with murder and crimes against humanity over the deaths during a crackdown on a rally of a radical Islamist group 13 years ago in Dhaka.
The International Crimes Tribunal on Monday took the charges into cognizance and issued arrest warrants against the fugitives in the case related to the suppression of the rally of Bangladesh Hefazat-e-Islam in May 2013 in Dhaka’s Motijheel area.
The case was heard by a three-member judicial panel of the International Crimes Tribunal-2, led by its Chairman Justice Md. Nazrul Islam Chowdhury.
The next hearing in the case will be held on August 16, as eight people have been shown as arrested in the case, according to the prosecution.
Earlier in the day, prosecutor Zahirul Amin submitted the formal charges to the Registrar of the ICT.
Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam told reporters that two charges of genocide have been brought in this case over the killing of 61 people.
He noted that this is because, according to the law, genocide was committed targeting a specific Islamic group. He said that the incidents of this genocide took place over two days – on May 5 and 6, 2013—at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka, as well as in Chattogram and Narayanganj.
Among the 61 killed, information regarding 58 victims has been confirmed from the families of the affected individuals, he added.
Background of the 2013 Incident
Tens of thousands of supporters of the Islamist group gathered in the Bangladeshi capital, bringing Dhaka to a standstill on May 5, 2013, demanding that the then government enact an anti-blasphemy law carrying the death penalty. They also demanded the execution of atheist bloggers.
They blocked Dhaka’s major entry points, vowing not to leave until the government accepted their demands. Law enforcement agencies, in an overnight operation, cleared the rally venue by the morning of May 6, 2013.
Widespread clashes between law enforcement agencies and activists were reported in Dhaka and other districts on that day, with the group claiming hundreds of people were killed in the crackdown.
The accused include: Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Former Cabinet Ministers: Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir (then Home Minister), Md. Shamsul Haque Tuku (then State Minister for Home Affairs), Hasanul Haq Inu (then Information Minister), Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Abdur Razzaque, Md. Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Hasan Mahmud Chowdhury, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Dipu Moni, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya
- Former Lawmakers: A.F.M. Bahauddin Nasim, Saluddin Mahmud
- Awami League Leaders: Omar Faruk Chowdhury (then Chairman of Jubo League)
- Others: Imran H. Sarkar (then spokesperson of Ganajagaran Mancha), Shahriar Kabir (President of Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee), Mozammel Babu (Managing Director of Ekattor TV), Farzana Rupa (Ekattor TV reporter)
- Former Police Officials: Hasan Mahmud Khondokar (former IGP), A.K.M. Shahidul Haque ((former IGP), Mohammad Jabed Patwari (former IGPs), Benazir Ahmed (former DMP Commissioner), Md. Mokhlesur Rahman (former DG of RAB), Md. Mojibur Rahman (former Additional DG of RAB), Moha. Abdul Jalil Mondal (former DIG), Sheikh Muhammad Maruf Hasan, Mahbub Hossain, Md. Monirul Islam, Md. Anwar Hossain, Moha. Ashrafuzzaman, S.M. Mehedi Hasan, Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid, Biplab Kumar Sarkar, Syed Nurul Islam, Md. Asaduzzaman (former SP), S.M. Shibli Noman (retired Additional Police Superintendent), B.M. For-man Ali (Police Inspector), former army chief general Aziz Ahmed, Ziaul Ahsan (former head of NTMC)
Arrests and Legal Proceedings
Following the fall of the Awami League government during the 2024 uprising, a complaint regarding the Shapla Chattar incident was filed with the Tribunal on August 20, 2024.
Those arrested and currently in jail in connection with the case include former State Minister for Home Affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku, former IGP A.K.M. Shahidul Haque, former Additional Director General of RAB Ziaul Ahsan, Abdul Jalil Mondal, and Shahriar Kabir.
Additionally, on May 14, former minister Dipu Moni, journalists Mozammel Haque Babu, and Farzana Rupa were also shown as arrested in this case.
Hasina’s Previous Conviction
Hasina, now exiled in India, was sentenced to death in absentia by a special court in Dhaka in November last year for the brutal suppression of the 2024 mass uprising that ousted her from power, ending her 15-year rule. According to a UN estimate, some 1,400 people were killed during the violent uprising.
