The new chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, Md Aminul Islam, said on Tuesday that he would scrutinise all formal charges related to cases of crimes against humanity committed during the July 2024 mass uprising.
Of the formal charges in 24 cases, 21 are currently under trial at two International Crimes Tribunals.
Aminul said that he had already instructed the prosecutors to submit all case files to examine whether investigations and charges were properly conducted and warned that legal action would be taken if any irregularities were found.
‘The prosecution will target criminals and will not harass innocent people for political reasons,’ Aminul told reporters after a meeting with the prosecution team at his office on the ICT compound in the capital.
He said that he would also review concluded cases and ensure transparency and speedy disposal of trials in line with the aspirations of the victims of the July movement.
He warned of stern action against any prosecutor or tribunal official involved in corruption during his tenure.
Responding to corruption allegations over the lenient five-year jail term of former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun and the pardon of former Ashulia police sub-inspector Sheikh Afzalul Haque, the chief prosecutor said that he was not involved in those trials but would take action if irregularities could be detected.
ICT prosecutor Sultan Mahmood had earlier alleged corruption against outgoing chief prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam and prosecutor Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim over the pardon of Afzalul Haque in a crimes against humanity case related to the killing of seven protesters in Ashulia during the 2024 uprising, and the lesser punishment of Mamun in the crime against human case involving depose prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan. Both were sentenced to death for superior command responsibility to July crackdown.
Tajul Islam rejected the allegations in a written statement, calling them baseless and unsupported by evidence.
‘They are devoid of any substance. No one can produce any evidence in support of these unfounded allegations of corruption against me,’ he said.
