Closing arguments have concluded in the crimes against humanity case stemming from the July mass uprising, brought against Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and six other senior leaders. The tribunal is expected to announce its verdict any day.
On Monday, August 17, the prosecution and defense completed their rebuttal arguments before the three-member judicial panel of International Crimes Tribunal-2, led by its chairman, Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury.
Prosecutor Mizanul Islam opened the day’s proceedings with legal arguments. He said various state-level meetings held around the July movement involved conspiracy and planning to kill people, with evidence of this emerging from various audio and video recordings submitted in the case. He further said Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader had ordered that protesters be shot on sight, resulting in indiscriminate shooting and the deaths of many people through August 5. Lawyer M Hasan Imam, appointed to represent Obaidul Quader, Nasim, and Arafat, responded to the prosecution’s arguments.
He argued that the shoot-on-sight order was issued to protect public life and property, but that his three clients held no commanding position. He said he holds only one individual responsible under command responsibility, arguing that his clients neither killed anyone nor ordered anyone killed.
Lawyer Ishrat Jahan then presented rebuttal arguments on behalf of the Chhatra League president and secretary and the Jubo League president and secretary.
The lawyer argued that her four clients — Saddam, Inan, Parosh, and Nikhil — were not named among those leading the crackdown on the 2024 July movement at Dhaka University; others led that effort. She further argued that the Chhatra League president and secretary general had failed to control their subordinate leaders and activists.
At this point, the tribunal asked whether any action had been taken against any leaders or activists. In response, lawyer Ishrat Jahan said disorder prevailed from early July 2024 through August 4, 2024, leaving no opportunity to take action.
She said repeated claims had been made about women being injured, but no female witness was brought in this case, and the evidence presented showed nothing of the sort. She said doubt exists as to whether any such incident occurred at all.
Seeking acquittal for her four clients, Ishrat said her clients made certain statements around the movement solely because of their political activity, while also taking various steps for their personal safety. She added that none of the videos submitted by the prosecution showed them holding sticks or weapons. In short, she argued, the prosecution failed to present any evidence against them, and on that basis she sought acquittal for all four.
Following the defense’s arguments, prosecutor Gazi M H Tamim presented a rebuttal. He explained the doctrine of joint criminal enterprise and outlined the alleged offenses of the defendants in the case. He argued as a matter of law that even if a single person died during the crackdown on the movement, the defendants would still be considered culpable.
Earlier, on August 12, the prosecution concluded its arguments seeking the maximum sentence for all seven defendants. Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam had explained to the tribunal that the offenses of all defendants in the case were serious. He told the tribunal that the prosecution had been able to prove all four charges brought against them. He said they were responsible for the killing and injury of many people during the July-August 2024 mass uprising, and that they deserved exemplary punishment. The prosecution sought the maximum sentence for all seven defendants, without leniency.
Prosecution arguments in the case began on August 4. On the first day, prosecutor Gazi M H Tamim presented the case’s overall background. Over the following five consecutive working days, the prosecution presented various data and arguments supporting the charges against the seven defendants.
Besides Obaidul Quader, the other defendants in the case are Awami League Joint General Secretary A F M Bahauddin Nasim, former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat, Jubo League President Sheikh Fazle Shams Parosh, Jubo League General Secretary Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil, Chhatra League President Saddam Hossain, and Chhatra League General Secretary Wali Asif Inan. All seven defendants are currently fugitives.
The evidence phase of the case concluded on August 2. A total of 29 witnesses, including the investigating officer, testified for the prosecution.
On January 22 this year, Tribunal-2 framed charges against the seven defendants and ordered the trial to begin. The same tribunal had taken cognizance of the prosecution’s formal charges on December 18 last year.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report