The International Crime Tribunal has appointed Supreme Court lawyer Aminul Goni Titu to represent ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and banned Chhatra League leader Shakil Alam Bulbul in the contempt of court case.
The three-member tribunal panel, led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumdar, on Thursday issued the order appointing Titu as the state-appointed lawyer.
Along with this, the next hearing in case has been fixed for June 25.
In addition, the tribunal has appointed senior Supreme Court lawyer AY Moshiuzzaman as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the hearing of the contempt of court charges against Sheikh Hasina and Bulbul.
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 amicus curiae and a state-appointed lawyer in the interest of transparency of the trial.
Earlier, on April 30, a complaint was filed against Hasina and Shakil over statements linked to a July Uprising case. The ICT had ordered the accused to submit their response by May 15.
As they failed to comply, the tribunal ordered the accused to appear before it on May 25.
Since they did not appear with this second directive either, the ICT ordered the publication of notices in two national newspapers summoning the accused to appear in person before the tribunal on June 3 at 10am to face contempt of court charges.
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 and state defense counsel to ensure procedural transparency.