BTV to broadcast live verdict on Hasina in July Uprising case

Bangladesh Television (BTV) will broadcast live on Monday (November 17) the verdict in the case over crimes against humanity during last year’s July uprising, involving former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others.

A three-member bench headed by International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) Chairman Justice Golam Mortuza Majumder will deliver the judgment.

The live verdict will be shown via giant screen at 10 spots of the Dhaka, said MH Tamim, a prosecutor of the ICT.

A foreign news agency has also sought permission for live coverage, the prosecutor said.

The prosecution has claimed all five charges against Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun have been proven, seeking the maximum punishment, including the death penalty.

In a press briefing on November 13, Chief Prosecutor Md Tajul Islam said they have appealed to the court for the highest penalty.

Initially, Sheikh Hasina was the sole accused in the case. On March 16 this year, the prosecution appealed to include former IGP Mamun as an accused alongside Sheikh Hasina and the tribunal approved it.

After the Awami League government was toppled on August 5, 2024, the ICT was reconstituted.

The first case in the reconstituted tribunal concerned alleged crimes against humanity during the July uprising, with Sheikh Hasina as the accused.

The tribunal conducted its first hearing on October 17 last year, issuing an arrest warrant against Hasina that day.

After extending the deadline several times, the tribunal’s investigation agency submitted its final probe report to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office on May 12 this year.

On June 1, the prosecution formally filed charges against Sheikh Hasina and the two accused.

The charges include:

- Inciting violence in a press conference at Ganabhaban on 14 July 2024;
- Ordering the elimination of protestors using helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons;
- The shooting death of student Abu Saeed at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur;
- The killing of six protestors at Chankharpul, Dhaka;
- The burning of six individuals in Ashulia.

The tribunal formally framed these charges on July 10.

Hasina and Asaduzzaman remain at large, while former IGP Mamun is the only arrested accused. On the day the charges were framed, Mamun admitted his involvement in crimes against humanity during the uprising and applied to testify as a state witness.

Arguments in the case began on October 12 and concluded on October 23.

Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam has sought the death penalty for Hasina and Asaduzzaman over the alleged crimes.

On the other hand, state-appointed lawyer Md Amir Hossain has sought acquittal for both Hasina and Khan, while Mamun’s lawyer Zayed Bin Amjad has also sought his acquittal.