Formal charges in the case over the alleged killings during Hefazat-e-Islam’s rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel will be submitted to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on July 27, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Aminul Islam said on Saturday.
He made the remarks at a consultation titled “Human rights abuses and access to justice for victims”, organised by human rights organisation Odhikar at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka.
Aminul said the investigation into the Shapla Chattar incident was carried out despite various challenges, including restrictions on the publication and broadcasting of information related to the incident.
“After the Shapla Chattar killings, statements were made from the highest level of the state claiming that the scenes of injuries and deaths had been fabricated,” he said.
He alleged that the broadcasts of two television channels were suspended following the incident, while several other channels that had recorded footage did not air it.
Despite these obstacles, investigators were able to complete their work, he added.
The chief prosecutor said human rights violations can occur at both individual and institutional levels, including through state mechanisms.
“Wherever there is the exercise of power, there remains a possibility of abuse. The question of human rights violations arises wherever authority is applied,” he said.
Aminul also noted that victims or their families can sometimes violate the rights of others while seeking justice.
Citing an example, he said a victim’s family might file a case against additional innocent people out of resentment while trying to establish their own rights.
“In the process of seeking justice for oneself, another person’s rights may be violated. That too amounts to a human rights violation,” he said.
The Shapla Chattar incident took place on 5 May, 2013, when law enforcement agencies conducted an operation to disperse a Hefazat-e-Islam gathering in Motijheel.
The incident has remained a subject of controversy, with differing accounts over casualties and the circumstances surrounding the operation.
