The full verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentencing Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasad) President Hasanul Haq Inu to 10 years in prison and fines in a case involving crimes against humanity has been published.
The verdict, signed by the judicial panel led by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, chairman of International Crimes Tribunal-2, was published on Sunday.
The prosecution is preparing to appeal, seeking a harsher sentence for Inu, prosecution sources said.
The tribunal announced the verdict on June 30, sentencing Inu to 10 years in prison and ordering him to pay Tk1 lakh in fines.
Eight charges were brought against Inu. The tribunal sentenced him to 10 years in prison on charge 3. For charges 6 and 7, he was ordered to pay Tk1 lakh for each charge and sentenced to 10 years in prison on each.
However, the tribunal acquitted him of charges 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8.
Although separate sentences were handed down, the tribunal ordered that Inu serve a total of 10 years in prison.
On May 14, after hearing arguments from both sides, the tribunal kept the case curia advisari vult (CAV), meaning the verdict was reserved for a later date.
Prosecutors Faruk Ahammad, Moinul Karim and Abdus Sobhan Tarafder, among others, represented the prosecution during the proceedings. Senior lawyer Mansurul Haq Chowdhury represented Inu.
The defence presented its arguments over nine days, raising various legal grounds in favour of the accused. The defence also argued that Inu was not a member of parliament during the July-August 2024 mass uprising.
Mansurul Haq Chowdhury said Inu had no involvement in the killings of six people in Kushtia. Defence lawyers also pointed out that witnesses had acknowledged that Inu was not present in Kushtia when the killings took place.
Kushtia killings
During the July-August 2024 movement, students and members of the public came under gunfire at several locations in Kushtia town on August 5, 2024.
Workers Ashraful Islam and Suruj Ali Babu, students Abdullah Al Mustakin and Usama, businessman Bablu Faraji and employee Yusuf Sheikh were killed in the shootings, while several others were injured.
A case was subsequently filed against Inu at the ICT. Following an investigation, the prosecution submitted formal charges against him, bringing eight allegations in total.