Mahbubul Alam Hanif sentenced to death for crimes against humanity

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 has sentenced Mahbubul Alam Hanif, joint general secretary of the Awami League (whose activities have been banned in the country), to death in a case filed on charges of crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising.

A three-member tribunal led by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury delivered the verdict on Thursday. The other two members of the tribunal are Judges Md Manjurul Bashid and Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir.

The tribunal sentenced the three other accused in the case to imprisonment for the remainder of their lives. They are Sadar Uddin Khan, president of Kushtia district Awami League and former chairman of the district council; Asgar Ali, general secretary of Kushtia district Awami League and Ataur Rahman, general secretary of Kushtia municipality Awami League.

All four accused, including Hanif, are absconding. The tribunal-2 also ordered the confiscation of half of their property.

The accused faced three charges in the case.

The first charge states that Mahbubul Alam Hanif was present alongside Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on 15, 17 and 30 July 2024 and endorsed Quader’s provocative statements.

It also alleges that at a discussion at the National Press Club on 29 July, Hanif labelled protesters as members of Jamaat, terrorists and communal forces, and instructed, incited, instigated and assisted others to kill and torture them.

According to the second charge, on Hanif’s instructions, Sadar Uddin Khan, Asgar Ali, Ataur Rahman and other Awami League leaders held a meeting at the Kushtia district Awami League office on 27 July 2024. At the meeting, the peaceful movement of unarmed students and citizens was described as terrorist activity. Awami League activists were instructed to use maximum force to suppress the movement in Kushtia city.

The third charge alleges that on 5 August 2024, following instructions from the four accused, goons from the Awami League and its affiliated organisations opened fire on students and members of the public at various locations in Kushtia city. Six people were killed in the shootings that day. They were Ashraful Islam, Suruj Ali, Abdullah Al Mustakin, Md Usama, Babul Farazi and Yusuf Sheikh.

According to information provided by the prosecution, the investigation into the case began on 25 March last year. The investigation agency submitted its report to the Office of the Chief Prosecutor on 11 September that year.

The prosecution subsequently submitted the formal charges to the tribunal on 6 October. After hearings from both sides, the tribunal ordered the formal framing of charges in the case on 2 November.

The trial formally began on 8 December last year with the presentation of opening statements. Witness testimony began the same day. The examination of witnesses concluded on 23 April this year, with a total of 19 witnesses testifying in the case.

The closing arguments in the case were completed on 10 June. On the same day, the tribunal kept the case awaiting the verdict. The prosecution later presented additional witnesses and documents.

Both the prosecution and the defence then presented arguments on the new testimony and documents. The arguments concluded on 7 October, after which the case was again kept awaiting the verdict.

Last Tuesday, Tribunal-2 ordered that the verdict in the case would be announced today, Thursday.