The International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced Mahbubul Alam Hanif, joint general secretary of the now-banned Awami League, to death in a crimes against humanity case over the killing of six people in Kushtia during the July mass uprising.
The three-member judicial panel of International Crimes Tribunal-2 delivered the verdict at noon on Thursday, October 29. The panel was headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, with Judge Md Manjurul Bashid and Judge Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir as its other members.
Justice Nazrul Islam first read out a summary of the verdict before announcing the sentences imposed on the accused.
Three other defendants were sentenced to imprisonment until death. They are Sadar Uddin Khan, president of the Kushtia district Awami League; Azgar Ali, the district units general secretary; and Ataur Rahman Ata, general secretary of the Kushtia city Awami League.
All four defendants are fugitives, according to the case proceedings.
Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam, prosecutors Mizanul Islam, Gazi MH Tamim, Faruk Ahmed, Shahidul Islam Sardar and Zahirul Amin, among others, were present at the tribunal. Amir Hossain represented the absent defendants as a state-appointed defence lawyer.
The tribunal kept the case pending for judgment on October 7 after hearing the prosecutions and defences arguments and rebuttals. On October 27, it set October 29 as the date for announcing the verdict.
The prosecution brought three charges against the defendants in the crimes against humanity case.
The first charge concerns Hanifs alleged incitement, instigation and assistance in efforts to suppress the July mass uprising. The second alleges that he ordered the use of maximum force to suppress the movement in Kushtia.
The third charge concerns the alleged involvement of the four leaders in the killing of six people in Kushtia city on August 5, 2024.
