The United Nations did not share the identities of eyewitnesses cited in its fact-finding report on the July 2024 Mass Uprising because Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Act still retains the death penalty, a prosecutor told the tribunal on Thursday.
Prosecutor Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim made the disclosure while presenting arguments before International Crimes Tribunal-2 in a crimes against humanity case against seven leaders of the now-banned Awami League and its affiliated organizations, including Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader.
During the hearing, Monawar said armed activists of the Chhatra League and Awami League attacked protesters between July 14 and July 17, 2024, on the instructions of senior party leaders, adding that the incidents were documented in the UN's fact-finding report.
He said the report contains references for all witnesses but the UN had informed the prosecution that it would disclose the identities of eyewitnesses only if the death penalty was removed from Bangladesh's ICT law.
"As a result, we did not receive the UN's eyewitnesses," the prosecutor said, adding that the prosecution is instead producing its own eyewitnesses before the tribunal.
Following the fall of the Awami League government during the Jul uprising, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a fact-finding report examining events between July 1 and August 15, 2024.
The report held senior leaders of the then-ruling Awami League responsible for atrocities and crimes against humanity committed during the period.
To prepare the report, the UN fact-finding mission conducted investigations in eight cities—Dhaka, Chittagong, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Khulna, Bogra, Sylhet and Gazipur.
It interviewed more than 230 victims and eyewitnesses, along with 36 government officials, members of the security forces and political figures familiar with the events.
Monawar told the tribunal that the UN withheld the identities of those eyewitnesses because the ICT Act still provides for capital punishment. The United Nations has consistently called for the abolition of the death penalty for all crimes.
Besides Obaidul Quader, the accused are Awami League Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, former state minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat, Jubo League Chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash and General Secretary Mainul Hossain Khan, and Chhatra League President Saddam Hossain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif.
All seven accused are currently absconding.
