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Formal charges will be filed soon against 10 former ministers, MPs and advisers of the Awami League government over alleged crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising, said International Crimes Tribunal prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim on Sunday.
He made the remarks at a press conference marking two years since the reconstituted tribunal began proceedings on cases related to the July-August uprising.
The accused include former industries minister Amir Hossain Amu, former agriculture minister Abdur Razzaq, former shipping minister Shajahan Khan, former textiles and jute minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, former education minister Dipu Moni, former Gopalganj-1 MP Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan, former Appellate Division judge AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, former home secretary Jahangir Alam, former MP Solaiman Selim and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s power, energy and mineral resources adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury.
Tamim rejected allegations that the tribunal was prioritising cases against fugitives over those involving detained accused. He said whether an accused was detained or absconding was not a consideration in determining the course of a trial or punishment.
He said formal charges were filed when investigations established prima facie evidence of an offence, while the tribunal determined punishment based on witness testimony and other evidence.
According to Tamim, investigation reports have already been received against several detained accused, including Amu, Dipu Moni, Faruk Khan and Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury. Formal charges are almost ready and will be submitted soon subject to approval from the chief prosecutor.
He said the tribunal’s proceedings were being conducted in line with international standards following its reconstitution on October 14, 2024, and amendments to the relevant law. Seven cases have so far resulted in verdicts across two tribunals, while several others remain pending.
Tamim said the current tribunal was not handing down death sentences indiscriminately. Sentences in different cases have ranged from three, seven and 10 years to life imprisonment and death, depending on the nature and evidence of the offences.
He also said journalists were not made accused because of their profession. Rather, those against whom investigators found prima facie evidence of involvement in specific offences were brought under the proceedings. He said investigators had found evidence that some journalists had supported the then government and disseminated misleading or false information during the July uprising.
On former Dhaka University vice-chancellor Maksud Kamal, Tamim said responsibility for executing the arrest warrant issued by the tribunal lay with law enforcement agencies.
He said investigations into allegations against the Awami League as an organisation would take considerable time, as investigators were collecting and reviewing information from across the country.
Meanwhile, two more witnesses testified in a case over alleged shooting and killings of protesters in Narayanganj during the July uprising. Both witnesses were themselves victims, according to the prosecution, bringing the total number of witnesses heard in the case to 12.
In another case involving former MP Shamim Osman, his sons and others allegedly linked to the Awami League, the accused face charges over attacks and shootings targeting protesters.
The tribunal is also hearing testimony from an investigation officer in the case against Ziaul Hasan, with the prosecution given two more days to present evidence.
Tamim said proceedings in part of the Jatrabari killings case before Tribunal-2 were nearing completion. The tribunal has divided the wider incident into four parts and granted another month to submit an investigation report for one part.
A hearing on framing charges in a case over the deaths of three students in Mymensingh’s Gauripur on July 20, 2024, has been scheduled for October 28. The tribunal has also ordered two formal charges to be combined for trial.
