There is no evidence that former lawmaker ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury was present at the scene of the alleged killings in Chattogram during the July mass uprising, his lawyer told the International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Thursday.
He made the argument while the tribunal heard a petition seeking a review of its order framing charges against Fazle Karim in a crimes against humanity case over the killing of six people, including Chhatra Dal leader Wasim Akram, in Chittagong.
The tribunal fixed 13 October for the next hearing on the petition.
During Thursday’s hearing, Fazle Karim’s lawyer Ehsanul Haque Samaji said that the date, time and place of an alleged crime are important factors in establishing a case.
He said the alleged incidents took place in Chattogram city, while Fazle Karim was an MP from another constituency.
“The prosecution has not produced any evidence or witness to establish his presence or involvement at the scene,” Samaji said.
He urged the tribunal to consider the review petition if the prosecution could not establish that Fazle Karim was present at the scene.
Earlier, on 30 June, the tribunal framed charges against 22 people, including former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud, over the killings of six people, including Chhatra Dal leader Wasim Akram, during the July-August 2024 mass uprising in Chattogram.
The charge-framing order marked the beginning of the formal trial in the case.
Five accused who are currently in custody subsequently filed petitions seeking a review of the order. The tribunal first heard the petitions on 21 September, while Thursday’s hearing was the second round.
The five detained accused are former lawmaker ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, Jubo League leader Azizur Rahman, Touhidul Islam, Mohammad Firoz and Debashish Pal Debu.
According to the case documents, all the accused were involved in the politics of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations.
After completing its investigation, the investigation agency submitted its report to the prosecution office on 2 April.
Following scrutiny, the prosecution filed the formal charges before the International Crimes Tribunal.
The case contains three charges.
The first alleges that Md Wasim Akram, Faisal Ahmed Shanto and Md Faruk were killed in Chattogram on 16 July 2024.
The second alleges that Tanvir Siddiqui, Md Saimon and Hridoy Chandra were killed on 18 July.
The third charge alleges that more than 100 people sustained serious injuries during the same sequence of events.
Besides former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud, the absconding accused include former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, former Chattogram City Corporation mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, Rezaul Karim, Mohiuddin Bachchu, Helal Akbar, Nurul Azim Rony, Shaibal Das Suman, Abu Salek, Esbarul Haque, HM Mithu, Nur Mostafa Tinu, Zamir Uddin, Imran Hasan Mahmud, Zakaria Dastgir, Mohiuddin Farhad and Suman Dey.
