Writer and educationist Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and former Dhaka University (DU) vice-chancellor Professor ASM Maksud Kamal are set to be named accused in a crimes against humanity case over the armed attacks on DU students during the July uprising.
The investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has submitted its report to the prosecution against eight persons, including Zafar Iqbal and Maksud Kamal. The report will be reviewed before being submitted to the tribunal as a formal charge, prosecution officials said.
Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim confirmed the submission of the investigation report on Thursday (6 August). Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam said the report was currently under scrutiny and that necessary legal procedures would be followed before presenting formal charges before the tribunal.
Those named in the investigation report include then Dhaka University vice-chancellor ASM Maksud Kamal, Dhaka University Sociology Department teacher AKM Jamal Uddin, former Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) teacher Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, and former Chhatra League general secretary Wali Asif Inan.
According to the prosecution, the investigation examined the events surrounding the quota reform movement in July 2024, particularly the attacks on protesting students at Dhaka University, as well as the statements and alleged roles of individuals linked to the incidents.
The prosecution claims that in a press conference at Ganabhaban on 14 July 2024, then prime minister Sheikh Hasina referred to protesting students as “children of Razakars” and “grandchildren of Razakars”. Investigators have said the remarks contributed to an atmosphere of hatred and violence against protesters and created a backdrop for subsequent attacks by Chhatra League activists at Dhaka University and elsewhere.
The prosecution also claimed that a phone conversation between Sheikh Hasina and then vice-chancellor ASM Maksud Kamal on the same night included references to protesters as “Razakars” and contained information suggesting instructions to use lethal force against students and civilians.
The prosecution alleged that on 15 July, more than 300 unarmed students protesting at Dhaka University were attacked by armed Chhatra League activists. Several students were allegedly beaten, injured with sharp weapons and shot. It also claimed that some injured students faced further attacks when they went to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.
The investigation report also included a piece written by Zafar Iqbal during the July uprising. In a two-page letter that went viral on social media, he wrote that although Dhaka University was his beloved institution, he felt he might never want to visit it again because seeing students there might make him think they were “Razakars”.
According to prosecution sources, while Sheikh Hasina’s remarks labelling protesters as Razakars contributed to an environment of hatred and violence, Zafar Iqbal’s comments also allegedly helped create a climate that encouraged hatred, incitement and justification of subsequent attacks. For this reason, his role was included in the investigation report under the International Crimes Tribunal Act.
The article by Zafar Iqbal went widely viral on social media on 16 July. The following day, on 17 July, general students of SUST declared him unwelcome on the campus for life.
