National Citizen Party convener Nahid Islam on Wednesday urged the government, the two International Crimes Tribunals, and the ordinary courts to bring to justice those responsible for crimes during the July 2024 mass uprising and for enforced disappearances under the Awami League’s 15-year authoritarian rule, regardless of which force they belong to.
Nahid, also a former adviser to the interim government, made the appeal while talking to reporters at the International Crimes Tribunal premises in Dhaka.
He talked to reporters immediately after giving his deposition as the 47th prosecution witness in the crimes against humanity case against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, who is now a state evidence.
Nahid, 27, a former sociology student at Dhaka University, was one of the six coordinators of the Students’ Movement Against Discrimination.
He is a key witness in the crimes against humanity case in connection with the 2024 July mass uprising.
The two-member tribunal, chaired by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, adjourned the hearing until Thursday morning.
Nahid told reporters that many complaints exist, including one he filed alleging harassment by some officers of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence for picking him up and subjecting him to inhumane torture.
He also named army officers working with the Rapid Action Battalion and DGFI, and even a Border Guard member, as having played roles in repression in Rampura and Badda. ‘None’, he said, ‘have been arrested’.
He said that Sheikh Hasina’s trial was just one among many. Other cases in lower courts must also proceed without delay and with seriousness by giving priority.
Nahid also urged the authorities to ensure justice for the victims and to hold accountable those involved in torture, enforced disappearances, and in helping the former government maintain authoritarian rule.
Nahid added that the inclusion of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League in the trial reflected the political dimension of the case.
‘Just as Hasina and her party are being held accountable, members of the police, military, and other forces involved in the July uprising and enforced disappearances must also face trial. No one should be spared,’ he said
He recalled leading the 36‑day student movement between July 1, 2024 and August 5, 2024 as the main student coordinator.
This movement followed a High Court verdict on June 5, 2024 that reinstated the quota system for government jobs, which had been scrapped in 2018 and the Appellate Division upheld the High Court’s decision.
Nahid described how the government responded with unlawful force against peaceful protests and repressive countermeasures.
He concluded his account up to July 19, 2024, before the tribunal ended Wednesday’s proceedings at about 4:30pm.
Earlier in the morning, the tribunal completed the cross-examination of Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman by defence counsel Amir Hossain, who represents fugitive accused Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman.
