The International Crimes Tribunal will deliver its verdict on Tuesday in the crimes against humanity case against Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and six other senior leaders of the party and its affiliated organisations over the 2024 July Uprising.
The three-member International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, fixed September 15 for the judgment on Monday, Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim confirmed.
The other members of the bench are Justice Md Manzurul Bashid and Justice Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir.
The verdict will bring to a close a trial conducted entirely in absentia. All seven accused have remained absconding, and state-appointed lawyers represented them before the tribunal. Arrest warrants against them were issued in December 2025.
Besides Quader, the accused are Awami League Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat, Jubo League President Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash and General Secretary Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil, and banned Chhatra League President Saddam Hossain and General Secretary Sheikh Wali Asif Enan.
ICT-2 framed charges against the seven on January 22, paving the way for their trial over alleged crimes against humanity during the July-August 2024 uprising.
The prosecution brought four charges and argued that the accused were responsible for killings and injuries during the uprising. Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam told the tribunal during closing arguments that the prosecution had proved all four charges and sought the maximum punishment as well as confiscation of the accused's properties.
The evidentiary phase concluded on August 2 after 29 prosecution witnesses, including the investigation officer, testified. Closing arguments began on August 4, with the prosecution completing its submissions on August 12.
After the state-appointed defence lawyers finished their arguments, the tribunal reserved the case for judgment on August 17.
Among the evidence presented by prosecutors was an alleged recorded telephone conversation between Quader and Arafat. Prosecutors told the tribunal the recording showed television stations airing footage of violence during the uprising being threatened with closure and designation as “enemies of the state.”
Tuesday's judgment will be another major verdict arising from prosecutions over the July Uprising. As of September 12, Bangladesh's two International Crimes Tribunals had delivered judgments in six high-profile crimes-against-humanity cases connected to the uprising, according to state-run BSS.
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