Hasina sued for genocide, crimes against humanity

A complaint was filed with the investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal yesterday accusing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and eight others of committing crimes against humanity and genocide between July 15 and August 5.

Supreme Court lawyer Gazi MH Tamim filed the complaint on behalf of Bulbul Kabir, father of Alif Ahmed Siam, a 9th grader who, as per the complaint, was shot by police in Savar on August 5 and died two days later.

Tamim, who was a lawyer for several war crimes accused at the International Crimes Tribunal, appealed to the investigation agency to take legal proceedings following a proper investigation.

"We registered the complaint, and thus the investigation has started," Ataur Rahman, deputy director (admin) of the investigation agency, told The Daily Star yesterday.

"Once the probe is done, we will submit the report to the Chief Prosecutor's Office of the tribunal so that the next procedures can begin," he added.

The others accused are Obaidul Quader, Awami League general secretary and former road transport and bridges minister; Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former home minister; Zunaid Ahmed Palak, former state minister for telecommunications and IT; Mohammad Ali Arafat, former state minister for information; Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, former inspector general of police; Harun Or Rashid, former additional commissioner (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP); Habibur Rahman, former DMP commissioner; Harun Ar Rashid, former director general of Rab.

Besides them, some unnamed individuals from law enforcement agencies and AL leaders, the AL, Jubo League, Chhatra League, and other wings of the party were accused as organisations.

The development came hours after Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said the interim government decided to hold the trial at the International Crimes Tribunal for the killings during the mass uprising that toppled the Hasina-led government.

The involvement of the highest position holders of the immediate past government has been examined, and it is possible to put them on trial, he told reporters at the secretariat.

The previous government fell after Hasina on August 5 fled to India amid a mass uprising that began as a student protest for reforming quotas in government jobs.

Over 550 people, including students and law enforcers, were killed in violence during the uprising. Hasina and several top AL leaders -- some of them already arrested -- have been accused in several other cases.

The Hasina-led government in March 2010 formed the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) to try those who committed crimes in 1971. A second ICT was formed later. Five Jamaat and a BNP leader were executed following the verdicts of the two tribunals.

THE COMPLAINT

The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily Star, was filed under section 3(2) and 4(1) (2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act-1973.

Section 3(2)(a) of the act says, "Crimes against humanity: namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, abduction, confinement, torture, rape or other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population or persecutions on political, racial, ethnic or religious grounds, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated."

Section 3(2)(C) says, "Genocide: meaning and including any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, religious or political group, such as: (i) killing members of the group; (ii) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (iii) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (iv) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (v) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."

Section 4(1) and 2(2) deals with the liability of crimes.

According to the compliant, the accused, with an intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the unarmed students and people involved with the anti-discrimination movement by indiscriminate shooting committed genocide and crimes against humanity.

Copies of different newspapers published from July 16 to August 6 were submitted as evidence.

The complaint said students and job seekers started quota-reform protests on June 1 and held different programmes to press home their demands.

Hasina, then prime minister, made inciting remarks at a press conference and directed law enforcers and leaders and activists of the AL, Jubo League and Chhatra League "to destroy, in whole or in part, the protesting students and general people", reads the complaint.

Quader and several other ministers, state-ministers, and lawmakers also made inciting comments.

Following the directives of Sheikh Hasina, Obaidul Quader and other accused, leaders and activists of Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League and law enforcers attacked the protesting students and people, shot and hacked them to death, and therefore, committed crimes against humanity and genocide, the complaint reads.

Following the directives of Palak and Arafat and other accused, genocide was committed keeping the internet service shut across the country in an attempt to hide the offence and spread rumors. The accused "forcibly controlled the electronic and print media" to keep people from knowing about the genocide, it adds.

As the DB chief, accused Harun mentally and physically tortured many, including the organisers of the student protests, and kept them confined to the DB office, it reads.

As per the directives of the named accused, 286 "false cases" were filed against 4.5 lakh people, and over 12,000 were arrested and then tortured in prisons, reads the complaint.

MORE CASES AGAINST HASINA

Yesterday, another murder case was filed against Hasina and 23 others over the death of college student Faizul Islam Rajon, 18, in the capital's Kafrul on July 19.

Rajon's brother Rajib filed the case with Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court.

The other accused include former ministers Asaduzzaman, Quader, Anisul, former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, former DB chief Harun, former DMP commissioner Habibur Rahman, and former DMP joint commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarkar.

The court asked the officer-in-charge of Kafrul Police Station to register the case.

Another case was filed against Hasina and four others over the abduction and torture of Supreme Court lawyer Sohel Rana in February 2015.

The other accused are Asaduzzaman, Anisul, former IGP Shahidul Haque, former Rab DG Benazir Ahmed, and 20-25 unnamed others.

A court asked the OC of Uttara West Police Station to register the complaint.

Sohel Rana mentioned in the complaint that members of law enforcement agencies in plainclothes abducted him from Uttara in 2015 and released him after over six months.

A total of four cases have been filed against Hasina so far.