The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Sunday began the trial of former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman and 10 other police officers over the killing of protesters, including college student Imam Hasan Taim, in the capital’s Jatrabari area during the 2024 July uprising.
The tribunal, chaired by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, recorded the testimony of Rahat Hossain, a protester who was shot at during the uprising and also a friend of the late Imam Hasan Taim.
The testimony followed the opening statement by chief prosecutor Md Aminul Islam.
The hearing was adjourned until Monday morning, when the tribunal will record the deposition of the second prosecution witness.
The other accused officers are the metropolitan police’s former joint commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakrabarty, former Wari zone deputy commissioner Md Iqbal Hussain, former additional deputy commissioners SM Shamim and Md Masudur Rahman Manir, former assistant commissioner Nahid Ferdous, former Jatrabari police station officer-in-charge Abul Hasan, inspectors Zakir Hussain and Ohidul Haq Mamun, sub-inspectors Sazzad Uz Zaman and Shahadat Ali, the latter of whom allegedly prepared a false inquest report.
Only Abul Hasan and Shahadat Ali are currently in custody.
Habibur and Sudip had previously been sentenced to death by the ICT-1 on January 26 for their command responsibility over six murders at Chankharpool during the July uprising.
Rahat testified that Habib ordered and failed to prevent subordinate officers from using lethal weapons, including pistols, shotguns, and Chinese rifles, against protesters in Jatrabari, leading to Taim’s death.
He said that the police operation also caused injuries to three others, involved torture of detainees, and included the filing of a false criminal case to implicate innocent individuals.
He said that Sudip, on July 20, 2024, ordered officers to fire on unarmed protesters. The armed teams were deployed under the supervision of senior officers, including Iqbal, Shamim, Masudur, and Nahid.
Subordinate officers, led by Zakir, reportedly dragged several protesters, including Taim, Rahat Hossain, Liton, and Shahriar Azad, out of a tea shop near Kajla foot overbridge and beat them with batons and rifle butts.
Taim was shot multiple times while fleeing and later died, while Rahat Hossain was injured.
The witness said that Shahadat Ali prepared a false inquest report to hide the killings and shift blame to protesters, protecting the actual perpetrators.
