Chief prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam on Wednesday told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that bullets recovered from the bodies of several victims of the July uprising were fired from military rifles.
He made the statement before the tribunal, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, during his arguments for the fourth day in the crimes against humanity case against absconding deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and detained former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun.
Tajul is expected to conclude his arguments today. State-appointed defence lawyer Amir Hossain will then begin his arguments on behalf of Hasina and Asaduzzaman, who fled to India following the July uprising.
Hasina and Asaduzzaman are facing the trial in absentia, and Mamun has become a state evidence.
The trio is facing the trial for their command responsibility in committing atrocities during the July uprising.
Tajul argued that documentary and video evidence proved former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, being the executive head and superior commander of all forces, ordered the use of lethal weapons against protesters.
The orders were executed by the then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, their subordinates, and ruling Awami League activists, he submitted.
Tajul presented bullet samples collected by physicians from different health facilities, including Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka Medical College, the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, and the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital, and the Criminal Investigation Department鈥檚 ballistic expert reports, to support the claim.
The physicians and the experts earlier testified in the tribunal in the case.
The chief prosecutor told the tribunal that Rapid Action Battalion鈥檚 black helicopters conducted 36 flights between July 1, 2024 and August 5, 2024, for purposes including crowd dispersal and reconnaissance.
Citing a report from RAB headquarters, he said that the document listed the pilots, passengers, and their ranks and phone numbers.
Tajul presented video footage showing attacks from black helicopters, where tear gas, sound grenades, and gunfire were directed at protesters.
He said that the RAB report confirmed the use of shotguns, submachine guns, tear gas, and gas guns during the operations.
He, however, noted that the report reflected only a minimum estimate of weapons and bullets used by the elite force during the July uprising.
Tajul also submitted a police headquarters鈥� report showing that law enforcers fired more than 3,00,000 bullets nationwide to suppress the protests, including 95,313 bullets in Dhaka alone.
Earlier, the investigation officer in the case, Md Alomgir, testified that the police used light machine guns, submachine guns, shotguns, revolvers, and pistols during the crackdown.
Tajul argued that the findings corroborate the UN Human Rights Office report, which stated that most of the protest deaths were caused by firearms, including military rifles and shotguns loaded with lethal metal pellets, weapons typically used only by Bangladesh鈥檚 police, paramilitary, and military forces.
He read out excerpts from a report of the UN Human Rights Office, which estimated that up to 1,400 people, including at least 13 women and around 12鈥�13 per cent children, were killed during the protests between July 15, 2024 and August 5, 2024.
The report, published on February 12, 2025, said that not all deaths could be verified or directly linked to state forces.
Citing forensic examinations of 130 protest-related deaths by the Dhaka Medical College Forensic Department, the report stated that over three-quarters of the victims were killed by firearms commonly used by government forces.
A chart in the report showed that 66 per cent died from bullets from military rifles, 12 per cent from shotguns with pellets, 2 per cent from pistols, and 20 per cent from other weapons.
According to the OHCHR, the military rifles involved were automatic and semi-automatic firearms used by the Border Guard Bangladesh, RAB, army, Ansar/VDP battalions, and Armed Police Battalions, and also by regular police during the protests.
The report further found that most victims were hit by 7.62x39mm military-grade bullets, the standard ammunition for rifles produced by the Bangladesh Ordnance Factory. In some cases, armour-piercing bullets, which are meant for combat situations and not law enforcement, were used against unarmed civilians. Such ammunition is available only to the Army, BGB, and RAB.
Video evidence reviewed by the OHCHR showed members of the police, BGB, RAB, Ansar/VDP, and Army carrying SKS, Type 56, and BD-08 rifles, all of which use the same calibre bullets.
The report added that a small number of civilians were seen with pistols, revolvers, submachine guns, and homemade firearms, but their actions accounted for only a minor share of the protest deaths.
