Shapla Chattar Case: Hearing on Charges Against 41 Today

Sheikh Hasina, former army chief General Aziz Ahmed and former IGP Benazir Ahmed. Photo: Collected.

A tribunal is scheduled to hear arguments on the formal framing of charges against ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 40 others in a crimes against humanity case over the killings surrounding Hefazat-e-Islam’s rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel, Dhaka, on May 5, 2013.

The hearing is scheduled for Sunday, November 1, before a three-member panel of International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury.

According to the prosecution, the state will present its arguments on framing formal charges against the 41 accused. The hearing was initially scheduled for October 7 but was postponed after the defence sought additional time.

Eleven of the accused have been arrested. They include Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) president and former information minister Hasanul Haq Inu; former state minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku; former food minister Abdur Razzaq; former ministers Dipu Moni and Abdul Latif Siddique; former inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Haque; retired Major General Ziaul Ahsan; former deputy inspector general Abdul Jalil Mondal; Shahriar Kabir, president of the Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee; television managing director Mozammel Haque Babu; and journalist Farzana Rupa.

Nine of the arrested accused, including Inu, Dipu Moni and Tuku, were brought before the tribunal on Sunday morning. Former police chief Shahidul Haque was not brought to court because of illness, while Ziaul Ahsan is scheduled to appear virtually.

The remaining 30 accused are fugitives. They include Hasina; former home minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir; Awami League Presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim; joint general secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif; former information minister Hasan Mahmud; Awami League joint general secretaries AFM Bahauddin Nasim and Jahangir Kabir Nanak; former state minister Mrinal Kanti Das; and former minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya.

Others on the list include former Jubo League chairman Omar Faruk Chowdhury; former lawmaker Salahuddin Mahmud; Gonojagoron Mancha convener and spokesperson Imran H Sarker; former inspectors general of police Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, Mohammad Javed Patwary and Benazir Ahmed; former Rapid Action Battalion director general Mohammad Mokhlesur Rahman; former army chief General Aziz Ahmed; and former RAB additional director general for operations Lieutenant General Md Motiur Rahman.

The list also includes former additional inspectors general of police Sheikh Mohammad Maruf Hasan, Mahbub Hossain and Monirul Islam; former Dhaka Metropolitan Police deputy commissioners Mohammad Anwar Hossain and Ashrafuzzaman; additional deputy commissioners SM Mehedi Hasan and Mohammad Asaduzzaman; former deputy inspectors general Harun-or-Rashid, Biplob Kumar Sarkar and Syed Nurul Islam; retired additional superintendent of police SM Shibli Noman; and former Motijheel police station officer-in-charge BM Farman Ali.

On September 3, the tribunal ordered the publication of notices in two national newspapers directing Hasina and the other 29 fugitives to surrender. Law enforcement agencies subsequently submitted non-execution reports to the prosecution, stating that the accused could not be found at their permanent or temporary addresses.

On September 16, after the 30 accused failed to surrender within the stipulated period, the tribunal declared them fugitives and ordered the appointment of state-funded lawyers to represent them.

Earlier, on July 27, Tribunal-2 took cognisance of the formal charges submitted by the prosecution against all 41 accused. It also issued arrest warrants for the fugitives and ordered that the accused in custody be produced before the tribunal.

The case contains two principal allegations. The first concerns the killing of 32 people at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel on May 5, 2013. The second concerns alleged killings on May 6 in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj, including 20 people, as well as killings in other parts of the country.

The tribunal is scheduled to hear arguments on framing formal charges based on these allegations.