The deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina allegedly planned to execute student protesters of the July uprising, comparing them to war criminals known as ‘razakars’, according to a leaked phone call submitted to the International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Wednesday.
In the call, reportedly made at 11:28pm on July 14, 2024, Hasina said to Dhaka University vice-chancellor Professor Md Maksud Kamal, ‘Razakars have been hanged. The same will be done to you. No one will be spared. We remained silent and patient, but they have crossed the limit again.’
The conversation took place shortly after DU students broke locks of halls and began protesting on campus, responding to Hasina’s earlier press briefing where she labeled the demonstrators ‘grandchildren of Razakars.’
Hasina further instructed action against the protesters, saying, ‘We must expel all of them. I am ordering arrests and whatever action is needed. In England, many were shot dead during student movements in the name of student politics. The same could happen here.’
VC Maksud Kamal, in the conversation, replied, ‘Yes, I will expel those responsible after resolving the situation.’
This conversation was cited by chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam during his opening statement before the ICT-2. The audio has been submitted as evidence in the case concerning the killing of Abu Sayeed, a student of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur on July 16, 2024.
ICT-2, chaired by retired High Court Justice Md Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, is scheduled to record the testimony of Abu Sayeed’s father, Mokbul Hossain, today.
The tribunal is set to begin the trial of Begum Rokeya University’s former vice-chancellor Hasibur Rashid and 29 others accused of involvement in Sayeed’s killing.
On August 6, the ICT framed charges against the 30 accused after hearing charges submitted by the chief prosecutor on July 1.
The charge sheet accuses the 30 individuals of murder, torture, and other inhumane acts as part of a coordinated crackdown on protesters.
The accused list includes 12 university officials, eight police officers, nine leaders of Awami League’s student organisation Bangladesh Chhatra League, which was banned by the interim government, and a physician.
Six accused who are in custody include former proctor Shariful Islam, staff members Anwar Parvez Appel and Rafiul Hasan Rasel, ASI Amir Hossain, constable Sujan Chandra Roy, and Chhatra League leader Imran Chowdhury Akash.
The remaining 24 accused, including former BRUR VC Hasibur Rashid and Rangpur Metropolitan Police commissioner Moniruzzaman Beltu, are still in hiding.
Abu Sayeed’s death, captured on video, showed him standing alone with his arms outstretched before collapsing from a police bullet.
The footage went viral, igniting nationwide outrage and further fueling the anti-government protests.
Abu Sayeed is recognised as the first martyr of the 2024 student-led uprising that began on July 1, calling for the abolition of discrimination in public sector recruitment quotas.
The movement led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime on August 5, 2024.