United News of Bangladesh

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 has set November 13 for announcing the date of delivering  verdict in a case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and another accused over crimes against humanity committed during last year’s July-August movement. After five days of arguments by the prosecution and three days by the defence, the three-member tribunal led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder set the date on Thursday. The other two members of the bench are Justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmood and Justice Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury. In this much-discussed case, the prosecution sought the maximum punishment for Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on five charges of crimes against humanity while state-appointed defence lawyers pleaded for their acquittal. The defence counsel for state witness and former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun also sought his acquittal. Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam responded to several points raised by the defence while Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman, as the state’s chief legal officer, urged the tribunal to ensure justice through the highest punishment for the accused. ICT orders 15 army officers be sent to jail in crimes against humanity cases Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam, Prosecutors Mizanul Islam and Gazi SH Tamim led the arguments for the prosecution, supported by prosecutors BM Sultan Mahmud, Shaikh Mahdi, and Abdus Sattar Palowan, among others. On the defence side, state-appointed lawyer Md Amir Hossain represented fugitive accused Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal while lawyer Zayed Bin Amzad appeared for state witness Abdullah Al-Mamun. Relatives of victims, including the father of martyr Abu Sayed testified in the case, along with key witnesses including Nahid Islam, Convener of National Citizen Party (NCP) and Amar Desh editor Dr Mahmudur Rahman. In total, 54 witnesses testified in the trial. According to the charges, the then Awami League government, along with its party leaders, loyal administrators, and members of law enforcement agencies, committed crimes against humanity to suppress the student-led July–August uprising. Two international crimes tribunals are currently trying these allegations. On July 10, the tribunal formally indicted Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former IGP Abdullah Al-Mamun, beginning the trial. Former IGP Al-Mamun turned state witness and gave testimony revealing details of the incidents. ICT chief prosecutor seeks death penalty for Hasina, Kamal The prosecution submitted an 8,747-page formal charge, including 2,018 pages of references, 4,005 pages of seizure lists and documentary evidence, and 2,724 pages containing the list of victims. A total of 81 witnesses were named in the charge sheet. The tribunal’s investigation agency submitted its report to the prosecution on May 12. Besides this case, Sheikh Hasina faces two other cases before the International Crimes Tribunal—one over enforced disappearances and killings during the Awami League’s 15 and a half years in power and another over the 2013 killings at Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Dhaka’s Shapla Chattar.  

The High Court on Saturday released the full verdict that upheld the death penalty of 20 students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) and life imprisonment for five others in Abrar Fahad murder case. The 131-page full verdict was published on the Supreme Court’s website. On March 16, the HC upheld the trial court’s verdict confirming the death penalty of 20 Buet students and life imprisonment of five others in the sensational case. A High Court bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain delivered the verdict in a jam-packed courtroom. HC set to deliver verdict in Abrar murder case Sunday Abrar Fahad, a second-year student of Buet’s Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) department, was beaten to death on October 6, 2019, by activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) at Sher-e-Bangla Hall. The attack was reportedly triggered by a Facebook post Abrar had made about water-sharing issues between Bangladesh and India. His body was later found on the dormitory’s staircase. The following day, Abrar’s father filed a murder case at Chawkbazar Police Station. The incident sparked nationwide outrage, leading to widespread protests. On December 8, 2021, a Dhaka court sentenced 20 Buet students to death and handed life imprisonment to five others for their involvement in the murder. Convicts and sentences The 20 students sentenced to death are: Mehedi Hassan Rasel, Anik Sarker, Mehedi Hassan Robin, Ifty Mosharaf Sakal, Moniruzzaman Monir, Meftahul Islam Jiyon, Majedur Rahman, Muzahidur Rahman, Tabakhairul Islam Tanvir, Hossen Mohammad Toha, Shamim Billah, Nazmus Shadat, Muntasir Al Jemi, Mizanur Rahman, Mahmud Setu, Shamsul Arifin Rafat, Morshed Omorto Islam, Ehtesamul Rabbi, Morshed Uzzaman Jishan, Mujtaba Rafeed, Dream of education system where students can see future within own country: CR Abrar The five students who received life imprisonment are: Muhtasim Fuyad, Akash Hossain, Mowaz Abu Horaira, Omit Shaha and Ishtiaq Hassan Munna. Of the total 25 accused in the case, five are on the run.  The HC began hearing the death reference and appeals on November 28 last year.    

A Habiganj tribunal on Thursday convicted five people and sentenced them to death for killing a pregnant woman in 2016. Read : Rab arrest death row convict in Habiganj The convicts are: Russel Mia, 25; his elder brother Kawsar Mia, 32; their mother, Tahera Begum, 50; their sisters Hasna Begum, 20, and Rozy Begum, 27. All of them are from Sadekpur village under Chunarughat upazila. Among them, Kawsar was tried in absentia. Read : 2 murdered, 25 wounded over land dispute in Habiganj Habiganj Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Zahidul Islam handed down the punishment. According to the prosecution, Tahera Khatun alias Ayesha, the seven months pregnant wife of Russel Mia, was beaten to death by her husband and her in-laws over Tk one lakh dowry on September 15, 2016. Read : 2 killed in lightning strike in Habiganj Abdus Sattar, Ayesha's father, filed a case with Chunarughat Police Station.

A Cumilla court on Monday convicted a man and sentenced him to death for killing a man in 2015. The condemned convict is identified as Azad Mia, 35, son of Bahadur Mia of Homna upazila. AL infighting leaves 1 dead , 10 injured in Cumilla Judge of the Cumilla Additional District and Session Judge Court-3,  Rozina Khan handed down the punishment. The court also acquitted two others—Salauddin, 28 and Nasir Uddin, 22---two siblings of the convict, as allegations brought against them could not be proved. Three crushed under bus wheels in Cumilla According to the prosecution, the convict beat Joj Mia up mercilessly, while he was sitting at the bus stand, over previous enmity on May 22, 2015. At one stage, he stabbed Joj Mia with a sharp weapon, leaving him dead. 16 Chhatra League men suspended for grieving Sayeedi's death on Facebook in Cumilla Anwar Ali, brother of Joj Mia, filed a case against three people with Homna Police Station. Police submitted chargesheet against them.

The Appellate Division on Monday fixed December 13 (Tuesday) for delivering its judgment on the temporary embargo on the political activities of Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader. A three-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foyez Siddiqui passed the order after hearing today. So it will be known tomorrow (Tuesday) whether GM Quader will be allowed to perform his duties as Jatiya Party chairman as per the constitution or not. Barrister Sayed Ahmed Raja appeared for Jatiya Party's suspended leader and former lawmaker Ziaul Haque Mridha who filed the case against GM Quader while Advocate Sheikh Sirajul Islam for GM Quader. Read more: GM Quader cannot perform duties as JaPa Chairman, Chamber Judge stays HC order On November 30, Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division M Enayetur Rahim stayed the High Court order allowing Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader to perform the duties of his post. On November 29, HC cleared the way for GM Quader to perform his duties as Jatiya Party Chairman by staying the lower court embargo till January 3 following a revision petition. Ziaul Haque Mridha filed the case against GM Quader on October 4. On October 30, Dhaka Joint District Sessions Judge court-1 issued a temporary embargo on the political activities of GM Quader. On October 6, several lawyers including Sheikh Sirajul Islam and Kalim Ullah Majumdar stood for GM Quader with a petition to withdraw the ban on his political activities at the court. In the petition, the lawyers also urged the court to lift the embargo to play his role as Chairman as per the constitution of the party that was dismissed by the same court on November 16. Later, Quader filed a revision petition with the HC challenging the lower court order. Read more: GM Quader can perform party activities: HC According to the case statement, the party’s founder HM Ershad died on September 14, 2019. Quader declared himself as chairman of the party through forgery at a council on December 28, 2019 when a writ petition case was pending at the High Court. Later, Quader as party chairman fired several leaders including Ranga, Gazipur metropolitan unit’s advisor Ataur Rahman Sarkar and Organising Secretary Sabur Sikdar, among others, by exercising his power as per the constitution of the party. Besides, Ranga was also removed from the post of presidium member of the party on September 14 and Advocate Ziaul Hoque Mridha from the party on September 17. In the case, orders were sought to declare all removals from December 28, 2019, to September 17, 2022 and council as illegal while the next council of the party to keep stayed unless the HC writ petition is disposed of.

The High Court (HC) on Thursday upheld the death sentence of three convicts in a case over the killing student Himadri Majumdar Himu in Chattogram in 2012. The death-row convicts are- Mahbub Ali Dany, Zahidul Islam Shaon and Zunayed Riyad. The court also acquitted Shah Selim alias Tipu and Shahadat Hossain Saju. Read more: HC releases full text of verdict upholding death penalty of 10 militants The HC bench of Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty and Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman delivered the judgment after hearing of the on the death references and the convicts’ petitions. On 27 April in 2012, Himadri, an A-level student of Summerfield School and College of Chattogram, was forcibly taken to the rooftop of Tipu’s residential building and pushed off from the roof unleashing dogs on him. Himadri died on May 23 of the year after undergoing treatment for 26 days. Read more: HC orders probe on ‘disappearance’ of birth and death registration info Later, a case was filed at the Panchlaish police station. On October 30 of the same year, police submitted a chargesheet to the court against the five convicts. On August 14 in 2016, Chattogram fourth additional metropolitan sessions judge Nurul Islam sentenced the five accused to death for their involvement in the murder. Later, the documents of the death sentences were sent to the High Court for approval as per rules. Besides, the convicts appealed challenging the trial court judgment.

The High Court on Wednesday upheld the death penalty for the five men and life imprisonment for another person convicted of killing acclaimed photojournalist Aftab Ahmed in 2013. A division bench of justices Jahangir Hossain and Md Bashir Ullah passed the order after hearing their appeal petitions. Advocates SM Shahjahan, Helal Uddin Molla and Shafiqul Islam stood for the petitioners, while deputy attorney general Samira Taranum Rabeya Miti represented the state. On March 28, 2017, Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 judge Abdur Rahman Sardar sentenced the five men to death and another to life imprisonment for the murder of Aftab. The condemned convicts are Billal Hossain Kislu, Habib Hawladar, Raju Munshi, Russel and driver Humayun Kabir Molla. Of them, Raju Munshi and Russel were tried in absentia. The lifer has identified as Sabuj Khan. The court also imposed a fine of Tk 10,000 on him. Read: Gaibandha child murder: HC upholds death sentence of one On December 25, 2013, Aftab of Daily Ittefaq, an Ekushey Padak recipient, was found dead at his West Rampura Wapda Road residence. He was 69. Driver Humayun, Habib and Billal subsequently made a confessional statement before the court that the convicts had strangled the victim to death while committing robbery in his house. Billal looted Tk 72,000 from his residence and shared the money with the others involved in the killing, according to police.   Aftab received the coveted Ekushey Padak in 2006.

A Dhaka court has issued the death penalty to seven persons, including a union parishad chairman, for killing a local Awami League (AL) leader in Mymensingh’s Gauripur upazila in 2020. The death penalties were awarded to Riyad Uzzaman Riyad, Chairman of Mailakanda union of Gauripur, Sakib Ahmed Reza, Joint General Secretary of Gauripur  Municipality Chhatra Dal, Khairul Islam and Mozammel Haque, members of Mymensingh District (north) Swecchasebak Dal and Chhatra Dal activists Main Uddin, Shariful Islam and Ruhul Amin. They have also been fined Tk 20,000 each. Besides issuing death penalty, the court has also given life term to three others accused for their involvement in the crime. The lifers are Masud Parvez aka Curzon, Shariat Ullah aka Sumon and Rasel Mia.  The court also fined the lifers Tk 20,000 each, non-realization of which will languish them six months more in jail. Judge Monir Kamal of Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 handed down the verdict on Monday. Read: 'Death penalty deeply flawed, unfair' On October 17, 2020, some unidentified assailants hacked Masudur Rahman Shuvro, General Secretary of Gauripur upazila Swecchasebak League, to death in the upazila’s Pan Mohal area at about 10:00pm. Abidur Rahman, the deceased’s younger brother, filed a murder case with Gauripur Police Station following the incident. On April 27, 2021, Inspector of Detective Branch (DB) Shah Kamal Akanda submitted a charge sheet to the court accusing 19 people for the killing. On January 26, 2022, the court framed charges against the accused and started the trial process. During the trial, the court collected testimonies from a total of 17 witnesses while nine people bore witness to the accused.   On October 6, 2022, the court set today for pronouncing the verdict after completion of arguments from the prosecution and the defendant.

A Dhaka court on Sunday set September 25 to pronounce its verdict in a case filed under the Arms Act against eight people, including GK Shamim a disgraced government contractor who gained infamy during the 'casino raids' of late 2019. Third Additional Metropolitan Session Court Judge Sheikh Samidul Islam fixed the date after hearing the arguments in this case. Assistant Public Prosecutor of the case, Salahuddin Howladar said the court recorded statements of ten of the 19 witnesses named in the case. Also read: ACC approves chargesheet against GK Shamim The other seven defendants in this case are all GK Shamim’s bodyguards: Md Zahidul Islam, Md Shahidul Islam, Md Kamal Hossain, Msd Shamsad Hossain, Md Aminul Islam, Md Delwar Hossain, and Md Murad Hossain. GK Shamim, who was known as an influential contractor of Sabujbagh, Basabo and Motijheel areas of the capital, was arrested on September 20, 2019. Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members seized illegal firearms and Fixed Deposit Receipts worth Tk 165 crore, Tk 1.8 crore in cash and foreign currencies from his house and office at Niketan. The elite force filed three cases – one under narcotics control, one under money-laundering prevention and other under arms acts – against Shamim with Gulshan Police Station on September 21. In October 2019, Rab filed a charge sheet against the accused in the arms case. Also read: GK Shamim indicted for money laundering The official trial proceeding in the case began last February 28, after the court framed charges against the eight accused rejecting an appeal for acquittal.

The High Court on Sunday fixed June 26 for pronouncing a verdict on whether Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman are fugitives and whether they will be able to hire lawyers. A bench comprising Judge Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Judge Kazi Md Ijarul Haque Akondo fixed the date after conducting a hearing for the third consecutive day. Tarique and his wife Zubaida had submitted three separate writ petitions to the HC some 15 years ago, challenging a case filed against them for acquiring wealth beyond their known sources of income and concealing wealth in their affidavits. The HC had issued a rule in this regard at that time. Tariq and Zubaida submitted another three writ petitions against the rule, asking for a hearing. The HC finally took cognizance of these petitions on May 29. On that day, the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) lawyer asked the court whether Tarique-Zubaida’s lawyer will be able to plead for time. Read: HC defers Tarique-Zubaida’s hearing in corruption case On June 5, the first hearing took place, discussing if Tarique and Zubaida can be declared as fugitives and if they will be able to appoint lawyers to stand for them. The same issues were discussed during the second hearing on June 12 and the third hearing today. Lawyers AJ Mohammad Ali, Joynul Abedin and Kaysar Kamal conducted the hearing. Lawyer Khurshid Alam stood for the ACC while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin stood for the state. During the hearing, lawyer Khurshid Alam said that Tarique Rahman has been convicted in three cases. Arrest warrant has also been issued against him. These conditions are enough to declare Tarique a fugitive. Besides, the Appellate Division on April 13 had said in a verdict that Tarique’s wife Zubaida is a fugitive. As both Tarique and Zubaida have been declared by the courts as fugitives, they can’t hire lawyers to stand for them, said Khurshid.  On the other hand, Tarique and Zubaida’s lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali said before the court that the corruption case against his clients is still in its infancy. The complaints haven’t been recognized by the court yet. As a result, the time hasn’t come for Tarique and Zubaida to surrender before the court. He added that Tarique wasn’t a fugitive when he had filed the writ petitions. Tarique has received bail in the corruption case, which has been upheld by the Appellate Division too. That’s why Tarique Rahman can’t be declared a fugitive. Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin said that the Appellate Division has already declared Zubaida a fugitive. That’s why she can’t hire a lawyer as per the court’s verdict.   The ACC had filed the corruption case against Tarique and Zubaida with Kafrul police station on September 26, 2007 for misappropriating Tk 4.8 crore. Both of them had filed separate writ petitions challenging the case.