July Oikyo, along with 101 organisations, has issued a statement rejecting the verdict delivered by International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 in the Chankharpul killings case.
While the tribunal sentenced three senior police officials to death under the principle of command responsibility, it imposed prison terms of just three, four, and six years on several police members, including Constable Sujan, who were directly accused of carrying out the killings.
The three senior officials who received the death penalty remain fugitives.
According to the statement, the team led by former Ramna Division Additional Deputy Commissioner Shah Alam Md Akhtarul Islam had taken position at the Chankharpul intersection to obstruct a long march, acting on the instructions of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Without any provocation, Constable Sujan and two others opened fire with Chinese rifles on the assembled crowd. Video footage of the incident later went viral on social media. ICT Investigation Officer Monirul Islam submitted a charge sheet accusing each defendant of direct involvement in the killings.
The statement notes that Constable Sujan’s defence lawyer failed to present any substantive arguments in his favour. In the verdict announced on Monday, the three superior officers were sentenced to death, while Constable Sujan received only a three-year prison term.
It added, “The verdict has left us deeply shocked and angered. This judgement is an extreme insult to the blood of the six martyrs of Chankharpul.” It further alleges that Constable Sujan was exulting while people were being killed by his bullets, and that not giving him the maximum punishment is nothing but a farce.
The coalition warned that unless the verdict is reconsidered, a harsher-to-hardest movement will be built. “We will never tolerate betrayal of the martyrs’ blood. If the authorities do not review the verdict, the interim government will have to bear responsibility for the subsequent situation,” the statement concluded.
The 101 organisations include UP Bangladesh, Inqilab Moncho, July Revolutionary Alliance, July Revolutionary Journalist Alliance, Nexus Defence, General Alim Society, Jagroto July, July Moncho, and others.
