Legal pressure on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina escalated on Wednesday as multiple new cases were filed against her and other Awami League government officials.
A petition was submitted to the International Criminal Tribunal, seeking an investigation into allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Awami League General Secretary and former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and several other prominent figures within the Awami League.
The petition also names the Awami League and its affiliated organizations as respondents.
The petition was filed by Bulbul Kabir, the father of Arif Ahmed Siam, a Class IX student who was killed during the anti-discrimination student movement.
Kabir’s application accuses Hasina and others of orchestrating a violent crackdown on student protesters, resulting in widespread casualties and human rights violations.
Key Allegations
According to the petition, Hasina made provocative statements during a press conference that allegedly incited violence against student protesters.
It is claimed that she, along with other ministers and leaders, instructed law enforcement and party activists to "completely or partially eliminate" the students involved in the protests.
The petition details a series of coordinated attacks across the country, carried out by members of the Awami League, its youth wing Jubo League, student wing Chhatra League, and law enforcement agencies.
Sheikh Hasina, ministers, top cops sued for genocide and crimes against humanityThese attacks reportedly involved firearms and indigenous weapons, leading to the deaths of at least 439 students between July 15 and August 5.
One specific case highlighted in the petition is that of Siam, who was injured by police gunfire during a protest in Savar on August 5 and succumbed to his injuries on August 7.
In addition to the fatalities, the petition alleges that approximately 450,000 protesting students were wrongfully implicated in 286 criminal cases nationwide, leading to the arrest and severe mistreatment of around 12,000 individuals.
The petition asserts that these actions constitute genocide and crimes against humanity as defined under international law.
Individuals Named in the Petition
The petition lists several other high-ranking officials and former government ministers as defendants, including Zunaid Ahmed Palak, former State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications, and IT; Mohammad Ali Arafat, former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting; Abdullah Al Mamun, former Inspector General of Police (IGP); Harunor Rashid, former Chief of the Detective Branch (DB); Habibur Rahman, former Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP); and Harun-Ar-Rashid, former Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
The petition also calls for legal action against the Awami League, Jubo League, Chhatra League, and other affiliated organizations.
The tribunal’s investigation agency has been requested to thoroughly examine the allegations and take appropriate legal action against the accused.
Enforced disappearance
Another case was filed against Sheikh Hasina and four others on charges related to the enforced disappearance of a Supreme Court lawyer from Uttara in 2015.
The case application was filed on Wednesday in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Farzana Shakila Sumu Chowdhury by the victim, Supreme Court lawyer Sohel Rana.
After the hearing, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Farzana Shakila Sumu Chowdhury recorded the complainant Sohel Rana’s statement and directed the officer-in-charge of Uttara West Police Station to register the complaint as a First Information Report (FIR).
The other accused in this case include former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former Law Minister Anisul Haq, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Shahidul Haque, former Director General of RAB Benazir Ahmed, and 25 unidentified members of RAB.
On Tuesday, a similar case was filed against Hasina and six others for the alleged murder of a grocery store owner named Abu Said.
The court ordered the application to be accepted as a formal case.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury issued the order based on the application filed by SM Amir Hamza, who claimed he was filing the case as a conscious citizen seeking justice for the murder of an innocent person.
Student murder cases
Yet another case was filed against Sheikh Hasina and 24 others for the alleged shooting and killing of Faizul Islam Rajon, an 18-year-old student of Dhaka Model Degree College in the capital's Kafrul area.
Rajon’s brother, Rajib, 32, filed the case on Wednesday in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ahmed Humayun Kabir.
The court accepted the plaintiff's statement and directed Kafrul Police Station to register the case as a First Information Report (FIR).
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court on Wednesday set September 25 as the deadline for submitting a probe report in a case filed against Sheikh Hasina and six others on murder charges in the Mohammadpur area under an order by the capital's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.
The other accused in this case include Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, former DB Chief Harunur Rashid, former DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman, and former DMP Joint Commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarker.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Zaki-Al-Farabi set the date after accepting the FIR.
Earlier on Tuesday, Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court reviewed the documents and directed the officer-in-charge (OC) of Mohammadpur Police Station to register the complaint as a First Information Report (FIR).
This was the first case filed against Sheikh Hasina after she resigned and left the country for India on August 5.
Amir Hamza Shatil, a resident of the Mohammadpur area, filed an application to initiate a murder case with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury against Sheikh Hasina and others.
In his complaint, the petitioner mentioned that Abu Sayeed was killed at 4 pm on July 19 when police were indiscriminately shooting at students and common people during the quota reform protests.
