Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and six other senior leaders of the party and its affiliated organisations were sentenced to death on Tuesday for crimes against humanity committed during the July-August 2024 mass uprising, in one of the most consequential verdicts delivered so far over the deadly crackdown.
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 handed down the sentences against Quader, Awami League Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, former state minister Mohammad Ali Arafat, Jubo League President Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, Jubo League General Secretary Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil, Chhatra League President Saddam Hussain and its General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Inan.
All seven are fugitives.
The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, also ordered the confiscation of half the assets of Quader, Nasim, Arafat, Parash and Nikhil.
The confiscated assets are to be distributed as compensation among the families of those killed in the uprising and people injured during the violence.
The verdict comes about 10 months after ousted prime minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death on November 17 last year for crimes against humanity committed during the uprising.
Tuesday's ruling was the seventh verdict delivered by the reconstituted International Crimes Tribunals over crimes against humanity linked to the uprising that brought down the Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
Across those seven verdicts, the two tribunals have so far sentenced 68 accused, with 22 receiving the death penalty.
Eighteen of those sentenced to death are fugitives and four are in custody.
Case built around command, incitement
The prosecution accused the seven leaders of exercising command and control over, directing, inciting or assisting widespread attacks on protesters by law enforcement agencies and armed members of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations.
The charges included murder, attempted murder, torture, other inhumane acts, abetment, incitement and conspiracy under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973.
Three counts were brought against Quader, focusing on his statements and alleged directives during crucial stages of the uprising.
According to the formal charges, Quader spoke to then-Chhatra League president Saddam on July 11, 2024, and asked why protesters were not being beaten.
Four days later, at an Awami League press conference, he said Chhatra League would give a “fitting reply” to protesters whom he described as “self-confessed Razakars.”
The prosecution alleged that the remarks unleashed armed Chhatra League activists against protesters at Dhaka University and elsewhere.
The formal charges also accused Quader of directing then-state minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak to slow internet speeds and instructing former Chittagong mayor AJM Nasir Uddin to maintain control over Chittagong during the protests.
Prosecutors further cited Quader’s July 19 statement referring to the curfew as “shoot-at-sight” and alleged that he conspired with other senior government and party figures to suppress the movement.
The charges linked subsequent deaths in Mirpur, Feni, Lakshmipur, Chittagong and other areas to directives and incitement by political leaders during the crackdown.
Nasim, Arafat accused of role in crackdown
The prosecution accused Nasim of helping implement decisions to suppress the uprising through party activists and law enforcement agencies.
It alleged that he was present when inflammatory statements were made against protesters and that he played a role in mobilising resistance, including in his home district of Madaripur.
The charges also linked his actions and statements to attacks in Dhaka and elsewhere.
Arafat, who served as state minister for information and broadcasting during the uprising, was accused of inciting attacks and helping control the flow of information as the crackdown intensified.
According to the formal charges, Arafat threatened protesters by referring to the arms and ammunition available to law enforcement agencies and ordered temporary broadcast suspensions of television channels over their coverage of the violence.
The prosecution also accused him of directing party leaders and activists to join law enforcement agencies in suppressing protesters.
Jubo League, Chhatra League leadership
Parash and Nikhil were prosecuted over their alleged command responsibility for Jubo League activists involved in violence.
The formal charges accused Parash of issuing directives to Jubo League leaders and activists to resist the movement, linking cadres under his command to killings in Chittagong, Mohakhali, Lakshmipur and Rajshahi.
Nikhil was accused of personally taking up arms and leading attacks in Mirpur.
Prosecutors alleged that indiscriminate firing under his leadership on July 19 killed 26 people and linked him to further killings in the area on August 4 and 5.
Saddam and Inan, meanwhile, faced charges centred on their leadership of Chhatra League during the uprising.
The prosecution alleged that Saddam planned, directed and supervised attacks by Chhatra League members across educational institutions and other parts of the country.
It cited several statements in which he allegedly threatened protesters and called for resistance against the movement.
Inan was similarly accused of devising plans, issuing directives and helping mobilise Chhatra League members against protesters, including during the July 15 attacks in the Dhaka University area.
The prosecution's case placed the seven leaders at different levels of the political and organisational chain behind the violence, from senior Awami League policymakers to the leadership of its youth and student organisations.
With Tuesday’s verdict, both Sheikh Hasina and Quader -- the Awami League’s president and general secretary during the uprising -- have now been sentenced to death in separate crimes-against-humanity cases arising from the events of July-August 2024.