Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday ordered public summons for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, asking them to appear before the court on June 24 in connection with crimes against humanity during the July 2024 uprising. The tribunal directed authorities to publish the notice in two national newspapers after the prosecution reported failure to arrest the duo despite multiple drives.
Earlier, on June 1, formal charges were pressed against Hasina, Asaduzzaman, and ex-Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, including murder, attempted murder, torture, and use of lethal weapons. The court took cognisance of the charges and asked for the accused to be produced on Monday. Mamun, already in custody, was presented before the court. The tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, also allowed its investigation agency to interrogate six individuals—including former DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam and ex-Uttara East OC Mojibur Rahman—between June 22 and 25 in connection with the same case.
Security concerns mounted after two crude bombs were hurled from a moving vehicle near the tribunal around 5:45am. “One bomb exploded; the other was safely defused by our bomb disposal unit,” Shahbagh Police Station OC Khalid Munsur said. No casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court imposed a travel ban on 15 individuals, including Bangladeshi cricketer and former MP Shakib Al Hasan, currently abroad. The order was issued by Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib of the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judges Court following a petition by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The accused face charges of embezzling hundreds of crores through financial irregularities, unauthorised stock market investments, and accumulation of illegal assets. The list includes government officials and private individuals: Abul Khair, Kazi Sadia Hasan, Abul Kalam Madbor, Kanika Afroze, Mohammad Bashar, Sajed Madbor, Aleya Begum, Kazi Fuad Hasan, Kazi Farid Hasan, Shirin Akhter, Javed A. Matin, Zahed Kamal, Humayun Kabir, and Tanvir Nizam. Shakib, who won a parliamentary seat from Magura on an Awami League ticket in the January 2024 election, has not returned to Bangladesh since the fall of the AL government in August last year. Earlier, on January 19 this year, a Dhaka court also issued an arrest warrant against him in a cheque fraud case.
