The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Tuesday fixed 28 October for holding the hearing on charge framing against eight accused, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, over allegations of killing nine people under the guise of an operation at an alleged militant hideout in Kalyanpur’s Jahajbari in Dhaka.
Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim conducted the hearing in the tribunal on behalf of the prosecution.
There are a total of eight accused in this case. As two of them are currently under arrest, notices were published in newspapers directing the remaining accused to surrender; however, they neither surrendered nor could be arrested.
The two arrested accused are former IGP AKM Shahidul Haque and former DMP Commissioner Md Asaduzzaman Mia.
The absconding accused are former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the then DMP Additional Commissioner Sheikh Mohammad Maruf Hasan, the then CTTC chief Monirul Islam, the then DMP Joint Commissioner (Crime) Krishna Pada Roy, and the then Joint Commissioner (DB) Abdul Baten.
Earlier, on 29 January this year, the International Crimes Tribunal took cognisance of the charges against the eight persons, including Sheikh Hasina, in this case. At the same time, it issued arrest warrants against the absconding accused.
On 25 July 2016, the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTTC) of the police conducted a special operation named “Operation Storm-26” at a house called Jahajbari in Kalyanpur.
Nine young men were shot dead during that operation, whom the then government and law enforcement agencies had identified as militants.
However, later, allegations of crimes against humanity were filed, terming the incident a planned militant drama and extrajudicial killing.
Based on the demands of the victims’ families and findings from various investigations, this killing has currently been brought into the judicial process as a politically motivated crime and a crime against humanity.
Legal proceedings were previously pending with International Crimes Tribunal-1, but the case was later transferred to International Crimes Tribunal-2.
