Home
+
Published : 16 Jun 2026, 10:47 AM
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 has withdrawn its stay on two Abu Sayed murder cases being heard at a Rangpur court, clearing the way for proceedings to resume.
The directive appears in the final pages of the tribunal's 809-page full verdict.
The tribunal stayed the two cases at the Rangpur Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court on Nov 16, 2025, through Order No 29, to avoid parallel proceedings and conflicting judgements while the trial was under way.
With the verdict now delivered, the tribunal ruled the stay was no longer necessary.
The CMM court may now proceed with the cases in accordance with the law, though the verdict instructs it to take into account the tribunal's applicable and legally sound observations.
The tribunal also directed that a copy of the verdict be sent immediately to the metropolitan sessions judge in Rangpur and the chief metropolitan magistrate.
Both cases were filed at Tajhat Police Station.
The first was filed on Jul 16, 2024 -- the day of the shooting – by then sub-inspector Bibhuti Bhushan Roy, chief of a police outpost, which named unknown student protesters as suspects and claimed Sayed was killed by brickbat and gunfire from demonstrators.
A second case was filed on Aug 19 by Sayed’s elder brother Ramzan Ali, naming several senior police officials, including the then inspector general of police, Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, university officials and others.
Questions over the police investigation at the lower court level and allegations of crimes against humanity prompted the then interim government to move the case to the International Crimes Tribunal.
The investigation agency submitted its report on Jun 24, 2025, and charges were framed on Aug 6 of that year.
Sayed, a student of Begum Rokeya University, was shot dead by police on Jul 16, 2024 during a march as part of the quota reform movement -- a moment that became one of the defining images of the July Uprising.
On Apr 9 this year, Tribunal-2 convicted all 30 suspects in the case.
Assistant Sub-Inspector (Armed) Amir Hossain and Constable Sujan Chandra Roy, identified as the officers who fired directly at Sayed, were sentenced to death. Both are currently in custody.
The verdict handed life sentences to three others, namely the then assistant commissioner of police (Kotwali Zone) Arifuzzaman alias Jibon, the then inspector Rabiul Islam alias Nayon, and sub-inspector Bibhuti Bhushan alias Madhab.
Five people received 10-year terms: former vice-chancellor Dr Hasibur Rashid, former Rangpur Metropolitan Police (RMP) commissioner Md Moniruzzaman, teachers Moshiur Rahman and Asaduzzaman Mondal, and university unit Chhatra League president Pomel Barua.
Among the remaining convicts, eight received five-year rigorous imprisonment sentences, while 11 were given three-year terms.
Another convict, Md Anwar Parvez, was ordered to be released as the court counted his time already served in detention as his full sentence.
Of the 30 convicted, only six are in custody; the remaining 24 remain at large.
The prosecution called 25 witnesses during the trial, including those who were shot alongside Sayed and current lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah, who testified as a witness to the broader context.
CCTV footage from the scene and live broadcast video from NTV were submitted as evidence.
Convicts have 30 days from the date of the verdict to appeal to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
The three-member Tribunal-2 was presided over by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, with judges Md Manzurul Basit and Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir as the other two members.
