Bangladesh tribunal sentences ex-police chief, two officers to death over 2024 protest killings

Dhaka: A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced a former Dhaka police commissioner and two other senior police officers to death for their alleged role in the violent street protests of 2024 that led to the ouster of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICT-BD), which prosecutes crimes against humanity, found the accused guilty in connection with the killing of six people in the Chankharpul area of Dhaka on August 5, 2024, when police opened fire on protesters on the day the Hasina government collapsed.

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A three-judge bench of the ICT-BD, headed by Justice Mohammad Golam Mortuza Mozumder, handed down the verdict following a trial conducted in absentia. Those sentenced to death were former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Habibur Rahman, former DMP joint commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakraborty and additional deputy commissioner Mohammad Akhtarul Islam.

The tribunal held that the three officers bore command responsibility for the actions of their subordinates. “These three (convicts) had superior status over their subordinates and are liable for superior command responsibility. They are found guilty and hereby awarded a single sentence of death,” the judgment said.

Jail terms for other police officers

In the same case, the tribunal sentenced assistant police commissioner Mohammad Imrul to six years in prison, inspector Arshad Hossain to four years, and constables Sujon Hossain, Imaj Hossain and Nasirul Islam to three years each.

The three former senior officers and assistant commissioner Imrul were tried in absentia after being declared fugitives by the court, while the remaining accused faced trial in person.

Chief prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam expressed dissatisfaction with what he described as relatively lenient sentences for those who received prison terms. “Though it is customary to say ‘much obliged’ after any judgment of the court, we intend to file an appeal,” he said.

Second verdict by tribunal after Sheikh Hasina's death sentence

This is the second verdict delivered by the restructured tribunal. In November, the ICT-BD sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in absentia for crimes against humanity linked to the violent suppression of student-led protests.

In that ruling, the tribunal described the 78-year-old Awami League leader as the “mastermind and principal architect” of the crackdown, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of protesters.

Hasina has been living in India since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, amid nationwide unrest.

PTI