Prosecution has formally submitted charges to the International Crimes Tribunal over the killings during Hefazat‑e‑Islam’s rally at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka’s Motijheel on 5 May 2013.
A team from the prosecution filed the charge sheet with the tribunal registrar’s office on Monday, moving the case into formal judicial proceedings after a lengthy investigation.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is among 41 individuals named as accused, prosecution sources said.
Investigators examined witness testimony, video footage, photographs, documents, and eyewitness accounts before submitting their report. After scrutiny, the prosecution lodged formal charges with the tribunal.
The investigation confirmed the identities of 58 people killed during the Hefazat rally. Of them, 32 were killed in Dhaka, 20 in Narayanganj, five in Chattogram, and one in Cumilla, according to the prosecution.
So far, nine accused have been arrested in the case. They are former foreign minister Dipu Moni, former state minister for home Shamsul Haque Tuku, retired Major General Ziaul Ahsan, former inspector general of police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque, former deputy inspector general (DIG) Molya Nazrul Islam, Shahriar Kabir (president of the advisory council of the Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee), former DIG Abdul Jalil Mondol, journalist Mozammel Babu, and journalist Farzana Rupa.
The complaint over the Hefazat killings was initially filed by Hefazat leader Azizul Haque on behalf of leaders Junaid Al Habib and Maulana Mamunul Haque, naming 21 accused. Following investigation, the prosecution’s formal charge sheet expanded the number to 41.
Prosecutors alleged that attempts were made to conceal the true picture of the killings. Journalists Mozammel Babu and Farzana Rupa were accused of trying to divert the narrative and suppress casualty figures.
The prosecution said that immediately after the incident, Ekattor TV broadcast an investigative report titled “Somikaran” which deliberately spread misleading information, suggesting no deaths had occurred at Shapla Chattar.
