The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 on Thursday set 22 June for holding a hearing on framing charges against former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud and 21 others in a crimes against humanity case over the killing of six people, including Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Wasim Akram, during the July-August mass uprising in Chattogram.
The tribunal rescheduled the hearing after one of the arrested accused, former lawmaker Fazle Karim Chowdhury, was not produced before the court.
Prosecutor Zahirul Amin said the hearing on formal charges had been scheduled for Thursday.
However, prison authorities informed the tribunal that Fazle Karim was receiving treatment at Bangladesh Medical University Hospital and therefore could not be brought to court.
The prosecutor questioned the necessity of his hospitalisation, saying medical records showed that Fazle Karim was suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure, conditions that did not appear to require admission to a hospital.
Defence counsel M Hasan Imam, however, told the tribunal that his client had also suffered a neck injury while being transported from the tribunal to prison, resulting in a fracture. He sought additional time for the proceedings.
Following submissions from both sides, the tribunal fixed 22 June for the next hearing.
Earlier, on 13 May, the tribunal appointed state defence lawyers for 17 absconding accused and set a date for the charge-framing hearing.
Apart from Hasan Mahmud, the absconding accused include former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, former Chattogram City Corporation mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, Rezaul Karim, Mohiuddin Bacchu, Helal Akbar, Nurul Azim Rony, Shaibal Das Suman, Abu Saleque, Esbarul Haque, HM Mithu, Noor Mostafa Tinu, Jamir Uddin, Imran Hasan Mahmud, Zakaria Dastagir, Mohiuddin Farhad and Suman Dey.
The arrested accused include Jubo League leader Azizur Rahman, Touhidul Islam, Mohammad Firoz and Debashis Pal Debu.
According to case documents, all the accused are affiliated with the Awami League or its associate organisations.
The investigation agency submitted its report to the prosecution on 2 April upon completion of the probe.
After reviewing the findings, prosecutors formally placed the charges before the tribunal. The case contains three charges.
The first relates to the killing of Md Wasim Akram, Faisal Ahmed Shanta and Md Faruk in Chattogram on 16 July, 2024.
The second concerns the killing of Tanvir Siddiqui, Md Saimon and Hriday Chandra on 18 July, 2024.
The third charge alleges the serious injury of more than 100 people during the violence.
