Published : 14 Jan 2026, 03:28 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 03:01 PM
Students Against Discrimination (SAD) has sought action against 25 businessmen for supporting former prime minister Sheikh Hasina during the July Uprising.
On Tuesday, the group’s Legal Cell Secretary Motasim Billah Mahfuz submitted a complaint against the accused to the prosecution of the International Crimes Tribunal.
Among those named in the complaint is Salman F Rahman, an advisor to Sheikh Hasina. During the July Uprising, on Jul 22, 2024, the businessmen publicly expressed unwavering support for Hasina at a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office. The event was moderated by Salman F Rahman.
After submitting the complaint, Students Against Discrimination President Rifat Rashid showed photographs of that meeting and said, “We have filed the complaint today. We have these photos, and from them, the faces of those present are clearly visible. We have identified 25 businessmen and filed complaints against them, and there are more than 200 others who remain unidentified.
“We have already told the prosecution to forward this to the investigating agency as soon as possible. We have requested that it be sent today, so that the judicial and investigative processes can begin immediately, leading to the preparation of a charge sheet and, as early as possible, the start of the trial.”
Rifat said, “It is with Awami League money that our brother Sharif Hossain Bin Hadi was shot dead. With that same Awami League money, our sisters are still being harassed and humiliated online in such obscene ways, and to such an extent that they are being driven to kill themselves.”
After the Uprising, the organisation urged the people of Bangladesh not to engage in any violence and to protect state property, he said.
“We were focused on rebuilding the state.”
“We believed that with Hasina’s flight, all the mistakes and the Awami fascist enablers embedded throughout the country would also flee. Unfortunately, they have not fled at all. Rather, they are laying low and will resurface whenever they get the chance.”
The full complaint list includes:
Salman F Rahman, vice-chairman of BEXIMCO Group, prime minister’s advisor at the time
Mahbub Alam, FBCCI president at the time
SM Mannan Kochi, BGMI president at the time
Mohammad Saiful Alam, chairman of S Alam Group
Nazrul Islam Mazumder, chairman of NASSA group and at the time, Exim Bank
Md Helal Uddin, Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity president at the time
Md Hatem, BKMEA executive president at the time
Syed Nasim Manzur, chairman of Apex Group
Ahmed Akbar Sobhan alias Shah Alam, chairman of Bashundhara Group
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman of Pran Group (listed as Md Sunny)
AK Azad, managing director of Ha-Meem Group
Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (listed as Anwar Parvez)
Abdul Motaleb, former director of FBCCI
Bazlur Rahman, former director of FBCCI
Priti Chakraborty, former director of FBCCI (listed as Priti Chakma)
Habib Ullah Dawn, president of BARVIDA
Zahirul Islam Zahir, secretary general of Bangladesh Automobile Workshop Malik Samity
Mohammad Saiful Alam, chairman of S Alam Group (this name is listed twice)
BM Yousuf Ali, president of Bangladsh Insurance Forum
Mostafa Kamal, chairman of Meghna Group
Mohammad Ali Khokon, chairman of Maksons Group
Abu Yousuf Md Abdullah, chairman of Northern University Bangladesh Trust
Obaidul Karim, chairman of Orion Group
AHM Mustafa Kamal alias Lotus Kamal, former finance minister and chairman of Lotus Kamal Group
