ICT accepts charges against Hasina, 9 others

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Sunday took cognisance of the charges against 10 people, including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, over the killing of former Teknaf municipality councillor Ekramul Haque.

The ICT-2 also issued arrest warrants against them in connection with the case for crimes against humanity arising from the 2018 extrajudicial killing of Ekramul Haque in a reported ‘crossfire’ in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar.

The tribunal issued arrest warrants for the 11 accused, seven of whom remain fugitives while three are currently detained in jail in connection with other cases.

The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury and featuring members Md Manjurul Bashid, a retired district judge, and district judge Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir, passed the order after taking cognisance of the formal charge submitted by the prosecution under Section 9(1) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 and Rule 18 of the International Crimes Tribunal Rules of Procedure.

In a separate case, the tribunal also accepted formal charges against 19 people, including former lawmaker Muhammad Saiful Islam, over the killing of Sheikh Ashabul Yamin in Savar on July 18, 2024.

Yamin was a fourth-year Computer Science and Engineering student at the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST).