Evidence from prosecution witnesses proved joint attacks carried out by the Awami League, its affiliates, and law enforcement agencies against civilians during the July 2024 mass uprising amounted to crimes against humanity.
International Crimes Tribunal chief prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam said in his argument on Monday.
He said that the assaults on unarmed protesters were both widespread and systematic, as defined under the Rome Statute.
The attacks, he said, resulted in murders, torture, and enforced disappearances, injuries, and serious harm to a large number of people across several districts.
Tajul made the argument on the second day of hearings in the crimes against humanity case against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and detained former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun.
The three-member tribunal, chaired by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder,聽 adjourned the hearing until Tuesday.
An audio recording of a phone call between Sheikh Hasina and her then deputy military secretary, Colonel Rajib, was played before the tribunal.
Tajul said that the recording contained instructions from Hasina to use force against students and the public during the July 2024 mass uprising.
He further said that Hasina鈥檚 defence adviser, retired Major General Tarique Ahmed Siddique, had also advised her at the Ganabhaban on August 4, 2024 that the protests could be stopped if the army shot some demonstrators.
The prosecutor said that evidence showed that Tarique Siddique provoked and influenced Hasina to order the shootings.
Citing witness testimony, the prosecutor said that Noakhali Government College student Amena Akter had described how 120 to 130 armed members of the Awami League, Chhatra League, and Juba League attacked civilians in Lakshmipur, injuring more than 200 people and killing five.
Another witness, Nasir Uddin from Feni, testified that ruling party activists opened fire on 3,000 to 4,000 students and civilians, leaving eight dead and many others injured. 鈥楾his evidence clearly shows that the attack was of a large-scale nature,鈥� Tajul told the tribunal.
Dr Hasanul Banna, associate professor of surgery at Ibn Sina Medical College, testified that he treated numerous victims with gunshot and blast injuries, many requiring surgery. His testimony, Tajul said, further established the widespread nature of the attacks.
Shariful Islam from Kushtia stated that Awami League activists and police jointly fired on unarmed civilians, killing six and injuring many others.
Dr Zakia Sultana Neela, assistant professor at the National Institute of Ophthalmology, testified that 493 patients lost one eye each, 11 lost both eyes, and many others suffered severe vision loss, indicating the scale and brutality of the violence.
Prosecution witness Nayeem Shikder, who was shot in front of the then Khulna City Corporation mayor鈥檚 residence on August 4, 2024, said that police and Chhatra League activists jointly fired around 500 bullets at protesters.
Other witnesses described incidents of burning six civilians by law enforcers near the Ashulia police station and in other areas, showing that the attacks were coordinated and extensive.
Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, an associate professor at the National Institute of Neurosciences, testified that from July 18, 2024 hospitals treated hundreds of injured protesters, including 575 patients with head wounds, 167 of whom had fractured skulls.
Summing up the day鈥檚 arguments, Tajul said that the violence was not confined to one district but occurred across Dhaka, Feni, Lakshmipur, Rangpur, and Cumilla.
鈥楾he coordinated nature of the attacks proves that they were not random incidents but a planned operation against unarmed civilians 鈥� fulfilling the definition of crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute and the International Crimes Tribunal Act, 1973,鈥� he said.
