Leaders and activists of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) brought out a protest march in the capital on Tuesday, condemning the 10-year prison sentence handed to party president Hasanul Haq Inu and demanding that the verdict be overturned.
The procession started in front of Shikkha Bhaban and passed through the Press Club, Topkhana, Paltan and Zero Point before ending with a rally outside the party's central office.
Speaking at the rally, JSD leaders alleged that the International Crimes Tribunal's verdict was politically motivated and an act of "political vengeance."
They said the verdict was nothing but an act of political retaliation. Following the political changeover on August 5, 2024, the government led by Muhammad Yunus misused political power by using the tribunal originally established to prosecute the 1971 war criminals. Trying Hasanul Haq Inu in that tribunal is itself a travesty
The leaders claimed that Inu, whom they described as a leading participant in Bangladesh's Liberation War, was being prosecuted because of his political stance.
Referring to the tribunal's judgment, they said five of the eight charges brought against Inu—including allegations over the killing of six people in Kushtia on August 5, 2024, and claims of "superior command responsibility" for killings elsewhere—were not proven.
They also argued that Inu held no ministerial, parliamentary, governmental or administrative office at the time of the alleged offences and had no authority over the police, Border Guard Bangladesh or the army.
Claiming that the prosecution had failed to establish Inu's involvement in the Kushtia killings, the JSD leaders demanded that the verdict be set aside.
The rally, chaired by Dhaka metropolitan committee coordinator Mir Hossain Akhter, was addressed by JSD central committee Vice President Shafi Uddin Molla, Standing Committee member Saifuzzaman Badsha, Joint General Secretaries Afzal Hossain Khan Jaki, among others.
