Published : 27 Oct 2026, 02:20 PM
Updated : 27 Oct 2026, 02:20 PM
The International Crimes Tribunal will deliver its verdict in a crimes against humanity case against Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif and three other leaders of the party over the killing of six people in Kushtia during the July Uprising on Thursday.
The International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, fixed the date on Tuesday.
The tribunal’s two other members are Judge Md Manjurul Bashid and Judge Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir.
The three other defendants are former Kushtia Zila Parishad chairman and district Awami League President Sadar Uddin Khan, district General Secretary Azgar Ali, and former Kushtia Sadar Upazila Parishad chairman Ataur Rahman Ata.
Arguments in the case against the four defendants concluded on Oct 7.
The tribunal had ordered the trial of Hanif and the three others to begin on Nov 2 last year. The prosecution had submitted formal charges against them on Oct 5, and the tribunal took cognisance of the charges the following day.
The tribunal issued arrest warrants for the defendants that day and ordered them to appear before the court by Oct 14.
After police reported that they had been unable to arrest the defendants, the tribunal ordered them to appear through notices published in two national dailies.
The tribunal appointed lawyers for the defendants on Oct 23 and set Oct 27 for the framing of charges.
The prosecution brought three specific charges against Hanif and the other defendants in its formal charges.
One of the charges involves “command responsibility”, or the liability of senior leaders. They are accused of being present at a press conference and endorsing a statement by Obaidul Quader that the Awami League and affiliated organisation activists were sufficient to “deal” with the protesters.
They are also accused of directly ordering the killing of students and members of the public and conspiring to carry out the acts at a meeting in Kushtia on Jul 29, 2024, as well as the killing of six people in Kushtia city during the movement in July and August.
A total of 19 witnesses, including the investigating officer, testified in the case.
