The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) issued arrest warrants against nine people, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Ganajagaran Mancha spokesperson Dr. Imran H. Sarker, in a case filed by Hefazat-e-Islam over alleged killings at Shapla Chattar nearly a decade ago.

The three-member tribunal, led by Chairman Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Mozumdar, passed the order on Wednesday (March 12).

Other accused include former Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, former State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku, former Inspectors General of Police Hassan Mahmood Khandker, Shahidul Haque, and Benazir Ahmed, dismissed army officer Ziaul Ahsan, and former police officer Mollah Nazrul Islam.

Among them, Tuku, Shahidul, Ziaul, and Nazrul are already in jail. The tribunal ordered their formal arrest in this case and directed authorities to submit an investigation report by May 12.

The case originates from the 2013 Hefazat-e-Islam protests at Shapla Chattar, where the group alleged that a brutal security operation led to mass casualties. Rights group Odhikar reported 61 deaths, but its secretary Adilur Rahman Khan was later sentenced to two years in jail over that report.

Recently, Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus urged the United Nations to document the Shapla Chattar crackdown and other alleged extrajudicial killings during the previous government’s tenure in his meeting with UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis.

BDST: 1649 HRS, March 12, 2025
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