International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has appointed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist in the contempt of court hearing against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chhatra League leader Shakil Alam Bulbul.
The three-member bench of International Crimes Tribunal-1, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumder, issued the order on Wednesday. The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for June 25. Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim stated that since Sheikh Hasina and the other accused failed to appear despite public notices in newspapers, the tribunal has appointed senior Supreme Court lawyer A.Y. Mashiuzzaman as amicus curiae to provide an impartial legal opinion in the interest of a fair trial.
The case stems from a viral audio clip in which Sheikh Hasina was allegedly heard saying, “I’ve had 227 cases filed against me, so I’ve got a license to kill 227 people.” A forensic examination conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) later confirmed the authenticity of the voice, identifying it as Hasina’s. Following this, a contempt of court petition was filed at the tribunal. Accepting the petition, the tribunal initially directed both Hasina and Bulbul to submit their written explanations by May 15. After they failed to do so, the tribunal ordered their appearance on May 25.
When they again failed to appear, the court instructed that public notices be published in two widely circulated newspapers—Jugantor and New Age—requiring the accused to appear in person before the tribunal on June 3 at 10 am to respond to the charges. The notice also stated that failure to appear would result in proceedings continuing in their absence.
Despite the notice, neither of the accused appeared on June 3, prompting the tribunal to fix June 19 for the next order. As the accused remain absent, the court has now moved forward by appointing an amicus curiae to ensure procedural transparency.