Staff Reporter

A hearing is scheduled for today, Sunday (November 1), on the framing of formal charges against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 40 others in a crimes against humanity case over the killings surrounding the Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel, Dhaka, on May 5, 2013.

A three-member judicial panel of International Crimes Tribunal-2 will conduct the hearing. The panel is headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury.

According to prosecution sources, the state will present its arguments today on framing formal charges against the 41 accused. The hearing had initially been scheduled for October 7, but the tribunal postponed it until today following a time-extension petition from the defence.

Eleven Accused in Custody

Among the 11 accused arrested in the case are 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 Razzaque; former ministers Dipu Moni and Abdul Latif Siddiqui.

Others in custody include former Inspector General of Police (IGP) A K M Shahidul Haque; retired Major General Ziaul Ahsan; former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Abdul Jalil Mondal; Shahriar Kabir, president of the Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee; Mozammel Haque Babu, managing director of Ekattor Television; and journalist Farzana Rupa.

Sheikh Hasina Among the Absconding Accused

Those listed as absconding in the case include Sheikh Hasina; former Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir; Awami League Presidium Member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim; Joint General Secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif and A F M Bahauddin Nasim.

The list also includes former Information Minister Hasan Mahmud; former State Minister Mrinal Kanti Das; Awami League Joint General Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak; former minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya; former Jubo League chairman Omar Faruk Chowdhury; former lawmaker Salahuddin Mahmud; and Imran H Sarker, former convener and spokesperson of Gonojagoron Mancha.

Former police and law enforcement officials on the list include former IGPs Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, Mohammad Javed Patwary and Benazir Ahmed; Mohammad Mokhlesur Rahman, the then director general of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB); former army chief General Aziz Ahmed; Lieutenant General Mohammad Mujibur Rahman, then additional director general (operations) of RAB; and former Additional IGPs Sheikh Mohammad Maruf Hasan, Mahbub Hossain and Monirul Islam.

The list further includes Mohammad Anwar Hossain, Ashrafuzzaman, S M Mehedi Hasan, Harun-or-Rashid, Biplob Kumar Sarkar, Syed Nurul Islam and Mohammad Asaduzzaman, who held various positions in the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) at the time. Retired Additional Superintendent of Police S M Shibli Noman and B M Farman Ali, the then officer-in-charge of Motijheel Police Station, are also accused in the case.

Surrender Orders and Charges Taken into Cognisance

Earlier, on September 3, Tribunal-2 ordered the publication of notices in two national dailies directing 30 people, including Sheikh Hasina, to surrender. Law enforcement agencies subsequently submitted reports to the prosecution stating that they had failed to locate the individuals despite searching their permanent and temporary addresses.

Later, on September 16, the tribunal declared those 30 accused absconding for failing to surrender and ordered the appointment of lawyers at state expense to represent them.

On July 27, Tribunal-2 took cognisance of the formal charges submitted by the prosecution against all 41 accused. The tribunal also issued arrest warrants against the absconding accused and ordered that those already in custody be produced before it.

Two Charges in the Case

The first charge in the case concerns the killing of 32 people at Shapla Chattar in the capital on May 5, 2013. The second charge covers killings at various locations across the country on May 6, including the deaths of 20 people in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj.

At today's hearing, the prosecution is expected to present its arguments on the framing of formal charges against the accused.