Shahina Begum, the mother of Sazzad Hossain Sajal who was allegedly burnt alive in a police pickup van, testified before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Sunday in a case of crimes against humanity against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun.
The woman, who is a sweeper at Ashulia Women and Children Hospital, told the tribunal that she, on August 6, 2024, identified her son seeing his shoe, the student identity card, and the mobile phone after he had been burnt alive along with five others gunshot victims at the Ashulia police station compound on August 5, 2024, the final day of the uprising.
The tribunal, led by its chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, also recorded testimonies of two bullet-injured victims.
One of them, Abdus Samad, a vegetable vendor from Uttara, survived after being shot in the head at Azampur BNS in the capital鈥檚 Uttara are on July 19, 2024.
The other, Nayeem Shikder, a protester and a student of Haji Mohammad Mohsin College in Khulna, survived after receiving bullets in the back and other parts of his body.
X-ray found the existence of about 500 splinters in his body, he said.
The tribunal also heard from Mizan Miah, a trader who witnessed the bullet being removed from Samad鈥檚 head.
All three witnesses demanded punishments for Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman and Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun for their superior command responsibilities as well as local lawmakers, Awami League leaders, and the police for the crimes.聽 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
The court adjourned the hearing until Monday morning, when it is scheduled to record the testimony of the 10th prosecution witness in the case.
Sajal鈥檚 mother Shahina Begum gave an emotional testimony.
She told the tribunal that, between 11:00am and 11:30am on August 5, 2025, she witnessed several gunshot victims and bodies being brought into the Ashulia Women and Children Hospital, where she worked.
Her son was a textile engineering student at City University and had joined the protests as a demonstrator at the Baipail crossing that day. She said she repeatedly called him, urging him to leave Baipail and join other protesters at Jahangirnagar University.
鈥楬e told me, 鈥淗ow can I leave my fellow protesters and go alone?鈥濃��, Shahina testified.
Her final call to her son was at 2:45pm, when he became annoyed and said, 鈥楽top disturbing me. If I die, you鈥檒l recognise me by my ID card.鈥�
At around 2:55pm, Shahina heard from her hospital colleagues that Sheikh Hasina had fled, and one of them urged her to contact her son again. She called twice, but he rejected the calls. After that, repeated calls went unanswered.
She then called his friends, but they told her they were hearing continuous gunfire and had lost contact with him.
Shahina left the hospital at about 7:00 pm and was unable to find her son, she said.
Later, she heard from students that six or seven protesters had been burnt near the Ashulia Police Station.
Students stopped her from going, fearing she wouldn鈥檛 be able to bear the scene.
Early the next morning, she went to the Ashulia Police Station, where she found her son鈥檚 burnt body among five others.
鈥業 identified him by one burnt shoe, his identity card, and the mobile phone he was still holding in one hand鈥� as if he was trying to call before he died,鈥� she said in tears.
