An investigation officer in a case of crimes against humanity against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and two others on Tuesday testified that the law enforcement agencies and the then ruling party affiliates were involved in widespread, systematic and targeted killings in at least 41 districts across the country during the July uprising.
The officer, Mohammad Alomgir, testifying for the third day as the 54th prosecution witness before the three-member International Crimes Tribunal-1, submitted that murders took place at 434 locations in 41 districts.
Besides Hasina, two other accused in the case are former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and detained former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun.
They are accused of superior command responsibility in committing atrocities across the country.
Hasina and Asaduzzaman are still in hiding and facing the trial in absentia. Mamun is now a state evidence.
The investigation officer told the tribunal that violent attacks occurred in over 50 districts during the uprising.
The victims, largely unarmed civilians, students, and protesters, were targeted using intelligence gathered from mobile phone tracking by agencies such as the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre.
The investigation found that members of law enforcement agencies and armed cadres of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations were involved in the killings, enforced disappearances, unlawful detentions, and torture of dissenting voices, he submitted.
When asked whether the accused had taken any steps to prevent the atrocities, the IO replied in the negative and said, 鈥極n the contrary, they actively facilitated and benefited from such actions to remain in state power.鈥�
He submitted that the crimes were systematic and carried out with political intent. 鈥楾he purpose was to suppress dissent, create fear, and cling to power through repression and manipulation鈥攊ncluding staged disappearances and controlled elections,鈥� Alomgir told the tribunal.
During the hearing, the tribunal reviewed two video clippings presented by the investigation officer.
One of them is an Al Jazeera documentary aired on July 24, 2024, and the other is a BBC investigative report published on its YouTube channel on August 4, 2025.
Both of them focused on the atrocities committed during the July mass uprising.
The tribunal adjourned the hearing when state-appointed defence counsel Amir Hossain began to cross-examine the investigation officer.
Following the deposition, prosecutor Gazi Monowar Hossain Tamim said that the investigation officer submitted 92 documentary exhibits and 37 physical items, including CDs, DVDs, and pen drives, containing over 14,000 pages of case documents to support the five charges brought against the three accused.
On completion of the investigation officer鈥檚 cross-examination, the tribunal will hear final arguments from both sides before reserving the case for a verdict, Tamim said.
