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Prosecution files formal charges against Sheikh Hasina, 40 others in Shapla Chattar case

The formal charges were submitted to the registrar of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) at around 10:45am by Prosecutor Zahirul Amin, accompanied by Prosecutor Marzina Raihan. Photo : Collected

The prosecution on Monday submitted charges against deposed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former army chief General Aziz Ahmed and 39 others in a crimes against humanity case over the killings surrounding the Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh rally at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka’s Motijheel in 2013.

The formal charges were submitted to the registrar of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) at around 10:45am by Prosecutor Zahirul Amin, accompanied by Prosecutor Marzina Raihan.

A hearing in the case is scheduled to be held later in the day before a three-member bench of ICT-1 headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder.

Among the 41 accused, nine are currently in custody. They are former minister Dr Dipu Moni, former state minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku, retired Major General Ziaul Ahsan, former inspector general of police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque, former deputy inspector general (DIG) Mollah Nazrul Islam, Shahriar Kabir, president of the advisory council of the Ekattorer Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee, former DIG Abdul Jalil Mondal, journalist Farzana Rupa, and Mozammel Babu.

According to the prosecution, the investigation agency has identified 58 deaths linked to the violence surrounding the Hefazat rally on 5 May 2013 at four locations. Of them, 32 were killed in Dhaka, 20 in Narayanganj, five in Chattogram and one in Cumilla.

The case concerns allegations of crimes against humanity over the crackdown on the Hefazat-e-Islam rally, which was held to press the organisation’s 13-point demand.

Following day-long unrest and clashes, a joint operation by the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) cleared Shapla Chattar late that night. The incident remains one of the country’s most controversial political crackdowns.