The tendency to fire indiscriminately on students and the public increased across the country after then prime minister Sheikh Hasina issued specific orders during the July uprising, International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam has alleged.
“Sheikh Hasina ordered law enforcement agencies to use lethal weapons and open fire. As a head of government, such an order was inhumane and horrific,” the chief prosecutor told journalists at his office on Sunday.
His remarks came shortly after the tribunal formally framed charges against 28 individuals in a crimes against humanity case related to the killing of nine people in the capital’s Mohammadpur area. Among the accused is Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, the then mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation.
The chief prosecutor said that the issue of instructions came up in a telephone conversation between Taposh and Sheikh Hasina.
“The then prime minister spoke of giving open instructions. She spoke of using lethal weapons and shooting directly wherever possible,” Aminul Islam said.
According to the chief prosecutor, indiscriminate firing was carried out on protesters in the Mohammadpur area on 18 and 19 July 2024, using drones and helicopters, resulting in numerous casualties.
“The most emotional point is that Faiyaz was brutally killed. That killing moved the entire Bangladesh to tears,” he said.
The chief prosecutor further said that charges of superior command responsibility, individual responsibility, and targeted killings have been found in the Mohammadpur case, and the tribunal has formally framed charges accordingly.
The tribunal is now set to proceed with the trial against the 28 accused, including the former mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation.
