Tuesday, 14 October, 2025
The July 2024 Mass Uprising had become inevitable as the Awami League (AL) government gradually turned into a “monster” during its 15-year rule, Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Mohammad Tajul Islam said on Sunday.
He made the remark while presenting the prosecution’s arguments in the crimes against humanity case against three accused, including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Tajul outlined the background that led to the mass uprising. “The Awami League government increasingly turned into a monstrous regime over the years,” the chief prosecutor told the three-member ICT-1 bench headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder.
The July 2024 Mass Uprising in Bangladesh was a student-led movement that began as a protest against the reinstatement of government job quotas but swiftly expanded into a nationwide demand for democracy and justice. The demonstrations escalated after violent state crackdowns in July left more than a thousand people dead in what became known as the “July Massacre.”
The bloodshed fuelled widespread public outrage, uniting students, workers, and citizens under the banner of the Student–People’s Uprising. Confronted with growing resistance at home and pressure abroad, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on 5 August 2024 and went into exile, marking a dramatic end to her 15-year rule and reshaping Bangladesh’s political landscape.
In his submission, the ICT chief prosecutor described the events that paved the way for the uprising. “The process began with the Pilkhana carnage, which crippled the country’s defence backbone, followed by a culture of enforced disappearances and killings. Later, the ruling party destroyed the country’s electoral system, abolished the caretaker government system, and institutionalised corruption at every level,” Tajul said.
“The regime’s ultimate goal was to suppress the people through fear and oppression,” he added. “This monstrous rule finally unleashed a full-scale assault on our young generation in 2024.”
The prosecution presented its arguments in the case against fugitives Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, as well as former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who had earlier pleaded guilty and became an approver.
A total of 54 prosecution witnesses — including the father of July martyr Abu Sayed, National Citizen’s Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam, and journalist Mahmudur Rahman — testified in the case and were cross-examined by the defence counsel.
Advocate Amir Hossain, the state-appointed lawyer for fugitives Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, cross-examined the witnesses. Abdullah Al-Mamun, another accused in the case, had earlier pleaded guilty and became an approver.
On 17 June, ICT-1 published notices in two national dailies ordering Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to surrender by 24 June.
“As per Rule 31 of the International Crimes (Tribunal-1) Rules of Procedure, 2010 (Amendment 2025), they are ordered to surrender before this tribunal on June 24, 2025. Otherwise, the trial will proceed in absentia under Section 10A of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973,” the notice read.
The tribunal issued the notices on 16 June after taking cognisance of the formal charges submitted on 1 June.
Chief Prosecutor Tajul informed the court that Hasina and Kamal were absconding, citing intelligence reports suggesting that they were in India.
The prosecution brought five charges of crimes against humanity and mass killings against Hasina, Kamal, and Abdullah Al-Mamun, based on a probe report filed by the ICT investigation agency on 12 May. The tribunal framed the charges against the trio on 10 July.
Meanwhile, the Facebook page of the Office of the Chief Prosecutor came under cyber attack while broadcasting the proceedings of the trial live.
“The cyber attack occurred as the Facebook page ‘Office of Chief Prosecutor, International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’ was live broadcasting the prosecution arguments. The page became temporarily disabled and was later recovered,” Tajul told reporters at noon.
He said the perpetrators and their collaborators “do not want the world to know the brutality and the evidence the prosecution is presenting during the arguments.”
“That is why they launched this cyber attack on our Facebook page,” he added.
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The July 2024 Mass Uprising had become inevitable as the Awami League (AL) government gradually turned into a “monster” during its 15-year rule, Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Mohammad Tajul Islam said on Sunday.
He made the remark while presenting the prosecution’s arguments in the crimes against humanity case against three accused, including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Tajul outlined the background that led to the mass uprising. “The Awami League government increasingly turned into a monstrous regime over the years,” the chief prosecutor told the three-member ICT-1 bench headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder.
The July 2024 Mass Uprising in Bangladesh was a student-led movement that began as a protest against the reinstatement of government job quotas but swiftly expanded into a nationwide demand for democracy and justice. The demonstrations escalated after violent state crackdowns in July left more than a thousand people dead in what became known as the “July Massacre.”
The bloodshed fuelled widespread public outrage, uniting students, workers, and citizens under the banner of the Student–People’s Uprising. Confronted with growing resistance at home and pressure abroad, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on 5 August 2024 and went into exile, marking a dramatic end to her 15-year rule and reshaping Bangladesh’s political landscape.
In his submission, the ICT chief prosecutor described the events that paved the way for the uprising. “The process began with the Pilkhana carnage, which crippled the country’s defence backbone, followed by a culture of enforced disappearances and killings. Later, the ruling party destroyed the country’s electoral system, abolished the caretaker government system, and institutionalised corruption at every level,” Tajul said.
“The regime’s ultimate goal was to suppress the people through fear and oppression,” he added. “This monstrous rule finally unleashed a full-scale assault on our young generation in 2024.”
The prosecution presented its arguments in the case against fugitives Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, as well as former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who had earlier pleaded guilty and became an approver.
A total of 54 prosecution witnesses — including the father of July martyr Abu Sayed, National Citizen’s Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam, and journalist Mahmudur Rahman — testified in the case and were cross-examined by the defence counsel.
Advocate Amir Hossain, the state-appointed lawyer for fugitives Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, cross-examined the witnesses. Abdullah Al-Mamun, another accused in the case, had earlier pleaded guilty and became an approver.
On 17 June, ICT-1 published notices in two national dailies ordering Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to surrender by 24 June.
“As per Rule 31 of the International Crimes (Tribunal-1) Rules of Procedure, 2010 (Amendment 2025), they are ordered to surrender before this tribunal on June 24, 2025. Otherwise, the trial will proceed in absentia under Section 10A of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973,” the notice read.
The tribunal issued the notices on 16 June after taking cognisance of the formal charges submitted on 1 June.
Chief Prosecutor Tajul informed the court that Hasina and Kamal were absconding, citing intelligence reports suggesting that they were in India.
The prosecution brought five charges of crimes against humanity and mass killings against Hasina, Kamal, and Abdullah Al-Mamun, based on a probe report filed by the ICT investigation agency on 12 May. The tribunal framed the charges against the trio on 10 July.
Meanwhile, the Facebook page of the Office of the Chief Prosecutor came under cyber attack while broadcasting the proceedings of the trial live.
“The cyber attack occurred as the Facebook page ‘Office of Chief Prosecutor, International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh’ was live broadcasting the prosecution arguments. The page became temporarily disabled and was later recovered,” Tajul told reporters at noon.
He said the perpetrators and their collaborators “do not want the world to know the brutality and the evidence the prosecution is presenting during the arguments.”
“That is why they launched this cyber attack on our Facebook page,” he added.
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