The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Thursday concluded the hearings in the crimes against humanity case against detained Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal president Hasanul Haq Inu over his alleged role in the crackdown on protesters during the 2024 July uprising.

The three-member tribunal, led by retired High Court judge Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, said that the verdict would be delivered any day.

Prosecutor Faruque Ahmed sought death penalty for Inu, saying that the prosecution had proved all charges brought against him.

Defence lawyer Munsurul Hoque Chowdhury, however, pleaded for Inu’s acquittal, arguing that the prosecution had failed to prove the allegations.

He said that the prosecution had utterly failed to  prove any direct involvement or incitement by their client Inu in the crimes for which he was facing the trial.

The prosecution on September 25, 2025 submitted eight accounts of charges against Inu, also former information and broadcasting minister and a senior leader of the Awami League-led alliance.

Inu was arrested on August 26, 2024 by a team of the Detective Branch at an apartment in the capital’s Uttara area.

His arrest followed a murder case filed on August 21, 2024 with the New Market police station over the killing of a protester during the uprising.

The first charge relates to a July 18, 2024 interview with India-based Mirror Now, where Inu urged the government to use force against protesters, portraying them as ‘BNP-Jamaat criminals, and communal.’

According to the second charge, Inu attended a July 19, 2024 meeting at Ganabhaban that decided to deploy the army and impose a curfew with shoot-on-sight powers.

The third charge alleged that Inu phoned the Kushtia superintendent of police on July 20, 2024 ordering the police to identify, track and act against protesters using photos. He approved both torture and killings.

The fourth charge stated that Inu conspired with Hasina to use the army, helicopters, and bombings to block and attack protesters. He supported Hasina’s decision to declare a curfew on July 20, 2024 and to use deadly force.

According to the fifth charge, Inu made inflammatory remarks in an interview with News24 on July 27, 2024, again terming the protesters ‘BNP-Jamaat’ and supporting the use of curfew and lethal weapons.

The sixth charge says that Inu was present at a July 29, 2024 meeting, chaired by Hasina, where protesters were labeledl as BNP-Jamaat criminals and communal forces allegedly intending to delegitimise the movement and justify repression.

According to the seventh charge, Inu maintained close contact with Hasina and played a key role in approving a curfew on August 4, 2024, which included shoot-at-sight orders.

The curfew was part of a broader plan to violently suppress the movement by labelling protesters as ‘extremists’ and justifying the use of lethal weapons.

According to the eighth charge, under the leadership and coordination of Inu and others, Awami League leaders and activists on August 5, 2024 opened fire on unarmed protesters in Kushtia, with assistance and cover from the police.

Six people were shot dead in separate incidents across Kushtia.