The testimony and cross-examination of 12 witnesses have so far been completed in a case linked to the July uprising filed against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and two others on charges of committing crimes against humanity.
A three-member International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) bench headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar fixed Wednesday as the next date for taking testimony after concluding the testimony and cross-examination of three witnesses in the case on Monday.
Earlier, testimony and cross-examination of nine witnesses were completed over four days.
ICT Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam, along with prosecutors Mizanul Islam and Gazi MH Tamim, conducted the hearing. Other ICT prosecutors were also present.
State-appointed lawyer Amir Hossain represented fugitive Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, while lawyer Zayed Bin Amjad appeared for former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
The ICT-1 framed charges against Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun and ordered the trial to begin on July 10.
The tribunal also approved Abdullah Al-Mamun’s application to become a state witness to uncover the truth of the incident by pleading guilty.
On June 16, the ICT-1 ordered a notice to be published in a Bengali and an English newspaper asking fugitive Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to appear before the tribunal. The following day, the notice was published, directing them to surrender within seven days.
However, the two absconding accused did not appear, prompting the state to appoint a lawyer to represent them during proceedings.
The tribunal took cognisance of the formal charges against deposed Sheikh Hasina on June 1 for crimes against humanity during the student-led mass uprising in July–August last year. The prosecution filed formal charges against Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
The ICT was reconstituted after the Awami League government fell in the face of the student uprising on August 5 last year. The first case was filed at the tribunal against Sheikh Hasina on charges of crimes against humanity committed during the mass uprising.
Apart from the first case, there are two others against Sheikh Hasina at the tribunal. In one, she stands accused of disappearances and murders of numerous people during her 15-and-a-half-year rule. The other case concerns the killings of numerous people in attacks on a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel.