Former lawmaker Muhammad Saiful Islam and five others have been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over the burning of six bodies in Ashulia during the July mass uprising.
A three-member judicial panel of International Crimes Tribunal-2, led by its Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, announced the judgement on Thursday in presence of eight accused.
In the verdict, the tribunal sentenced seven people to life imprisonment and two others to seven years in prison.
The court also acquitted one person-- Sheikh Abzalul Haque-- who has turned approver in the case.
The five other condemned convicts are AFM Syed, Abdul Malek, Biswajit Shaha, Mukul Chokdar, Rony Bhuiyan.
Eight of the accused were produced before the ICT in the morning amid strong security measures. They are former additional superintendent of Dhaka District Police Abdullahil
Kafi, former additional superintendent of Dhaka District Police Shahidul
Islam, DB inspector Arafat Hossain, sub-inspector Abdul Malek, Arafat
Uddin, constables Mukul Chokdar and Kamrul Hasan and Sheikh Abzalul
Haque.
Those on the run are former AL MP from Savar Saiful Islam; former Dhaka Range DIG Nurul Islam; former Dhaka superintendent of police Md Asaduzzaman Ripon; former Ashulia police officer-in-charge AFM Sayed; inspectors Muhammad Masudur Rahman and Nirmol Kumar Das; assistant sub-inspector Biswajit Saha; and Rony Bhuiyan, an aide to former MP Saiful.
According to the case, six youths were shot dead by police at Ashulia on August 5 last year during the July uprising after which their bodies were burned on a police van. A video of the horrific scene was widely shared on social media, shaking the nation.
It helped the victims' families identify two of the victims.
The video shows several bodies piling up on the back of a van while police officers are seen loading another body onto the vehicle. The bodies were covered with dirty clothes and banners found on the streets before being set on fire.
