During his testimony on Monday, a student stated that while visiting him and others receiving treatment in a hospital, Hasina allegedly issued a "no release, no treatment" order upon realizing they were involved in the protest movement.
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) in Dhaka recorded depositions from him and other prosecution witnesses in the crimes against humanity case filed against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two others on Monday.
Abdullah Al Emran, a 25-year-old master's level student at Dhaka College, and Parveen Akter, a 27-year-old day laborer who worked at a vegetable market in the Jurain area of the city, gave their statements before the tribunal that day.
Both witnesses are direct victims of the July-August 2024 mass uprising.
Emran was shot in the left leg during a protest near the Bijoynagar Water Tank area at around 3:00 pm on July 19, 2024.
He told the tribunal that Sheikh Hasina had instructed the authorities at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) to withhold both release and medical treatment.
"While I was NITOR with a bullet injury, Sheikh Hasina visited the hospital on July 26 or 27 in 2024. She asked me where I studied and about my condition. It was clear to her that I was a protester," said Emran in tribunal.
He claimed that after observing the injured students, Hasina instructed the NITOR officials near hospital's helpdesk, saying, "No release, no treatment."
However, instantly they could not understand what "no release, no treatment" meant, Emran said.
At one point, he realized that he had not been taken to the operation theatre at the appropriate time and was not allowed to purchase medicine from outside.
Emran further stated that his father attempted to have him discharged and transferred to another hospital for treatment. However, the authorities neither released him nor provided the necessary medical care. Then he understood what "no release, no treatment" meant.
He said they wanted to amputate his leg and take him to prison. However, after August 5 in 2024, he was provided full-fledged treatment there.
At first Emran was refused to get treatment from different private hospitals. Later, he was taken to Mitford Hospital (Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital). Finally the doctors at Mitford referred him to NITOR.
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