The International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2) has sentenced Awami League leader and former independent MP Muhammad Saiful Islam and five others to death in a case filed in connection with crimes against humanity committed in Dhaka's Ashulia area during the July-August 2024 mass uprising.
The tribunal also sentenced seven accused to life-term imprisonment, two others to seven years' rigorous imprisonment and acquitted one.
A three-member bench of the International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by its Chairman Justice Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, delivered the verdict on Thursday after concluding the trial process in the case.
This is the first crimes-against-humanity verdict delivered by ICT-2, following two earlier verdicts by ICT-1.
The verdict relates to the killing of seven protesters in Ashulia, in which five victims were burned after death and one person was set on fire while still alive.
Those sentenced to death are former Dhaka-19 (Savar) MP Saiful Islam, former Ashulia officer-in-charge AFM Sayed Rony, sub-inspector Abdul Malek, assistant sub-inspector Bishwajit Saha, constable Mukul Chokdar, and local Jubo League leader Rony Bhuiyan.
Seven police officials who received life sentences are former Dhaka Range deputy inspector general Syed Nurul Islam, former Dhaka superintendent of police Asaduzzaman Ripon, additional SP Abdullahil Kafi, additional SP Shahidul Islam, inspector Masudur Rahman, inspector Nirmal Kumar Das, and inspector Arafat Hossain Arzu.
Sub-inspector Arafat Uddin and assistant sub-inspector Kamrul Hasan were sentenced to seven years' rigorous imprisonment.
Former sub-inspector Sheikh Abzalul Haque, who turned approver during the trial, was acquitted.
The tribunal also fined the convicts various amounts, ranging from Tk 5000 to Tk 100,000. It also asked the government to confiscate all property of convict Saiful Islam and to distribute it to relatives of the victims.
Of the 16 accused, eight are absconding and eight are currently in custody. Those on the run include Saiful Islam, Nurul Islam, Asaduzzaman Ripon, AFM Sayed Rony, Masudur Rahman, Nirmal Kumar Das, Bishwajit Saha and Rony Bhuiyan.
According to the formal charge, at least 29 people were killed in Ashulia during the uprising. However, this case dealt with the killing of one protester on August 4 and six others on August 5, 2024.
The August 5 incident involved five bodies and one injured person set on fire, an act the prosecution described as an attempt to destroy evidence and terrorise demonstrators.
The tribunal took the case into cognisance on August 7, 2024, and framed charges against all 16 accused on August 21. After hearing final arguments from both the prosecution and defence, ICT-2 declared the case ready for a verdict on January 20 in 2026.
bikashju@gmail.com