ICT accepts charges against 19 suspects in MIST student Yamin

The tribunal also orders the arrest of 13 fugitives

The International Crimes Tribunal has accepted formal charges against 19 people over the killing of MIST student Ashabul Yamin during the July Mass Uprising.

Former lawmaker Saiful Islam is among the suspects.

The tribunal issued arrest warrants for 13 fugitives after accepting the charges.

It also ordered authorities to produce the remaining suspects, who are already in custody in other cases, before the court on Aug 25.

The order was passed on Sunday by a three-member bench of International Crimes Tribunal-2, led by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury.

Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim sought the tribunal's approval of the charges, along with warrants for absconding suspects and production orders for those already in custody.

Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam said the charges were filed based on the tribunal investigation agency's findings.

He said the tribunal reviewed video footage before accepting the charges and formally showed the detained suspects arrested in the case.

Describing the killing, Aminul said Yamin was allegedly shot while atop an armoured personnel carrier (APC) during the July movement before being thrown from the vehicle. He was then dragged across the road and left near a hospital, where locals rushed him inside for treatment. He later died.

Aminul described the killing as a defining moment of the July Uprising, saying widely shared footage of the incident shocked audiences at home and abroad and fuelled protests against the then government.

He said internet services were shut down in its aftermath.