The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday ordered the authorities concerned to issue public notices in two newspapers summoning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to appear before the court in a case over the July-August uprising.

A three-member bench, led by Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, passed the order after a hearing in this regard, said the ICT’s Chief Prosecutor Advocate Md Tajul Islam.

He said the court ordered the notice be published in one Bengali and another English newspaper.

Taking five charges into cognizance against the accused, including Sheikh Hasina, the court also set Jun 24 for the next hearing in the case.

The court also reissued arrest warrants for those who are absconding.

Earlier in the day, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was produced before the tribunal.

Following the hearing, the court ordered the publication of summons for Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Kamal as they have been absconding.

The chief prosecutor formally submitted the charges against Hasina, accusing her of responsibility for atrocities during the July-August pro-democracy uprising.

According to the case statement, nearly 1500 people were killed during last year’s anti-government movement in the country.

Amid intense protests on August 5 last year, then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country and took shelter in India.

Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus later assumed power and restructured the tribunal to prosecute those accused of mass killings, with the first case filed against Hasina.

Following a six-month investigation, the tribunal’s agency submitted its final report on May 12 and formally presented it before the court on Sunday.

Source: UNB