Three prosecution witnesses on Monday testified before the International Crimes Tribunal against former Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman and 11 others in a case over crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 July Uprising in Narayanganj.
The testimonies were recorded before a three-member bench of ICT-1 headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder.
The witnesses described attacks on protesters and the killings of several people in Narayanganj on July 19, July 21 and August 5, 2024.
The prosecution has alleged that Shamim and his associates were involved in crimes in which 10 people were killed in the Fatullah and Signboard areas of Narayanganj on those three dates.
All 12 accused, including Shamim, are absconding, according to the prosecution.
The other accused are Shamim's son Ayan Osman; nephew Azmeri Osman; Ayan's brother-in-law Minhaj Uddin Ahmed Diki; Shamim's brother-in-law Tanvir Ahmed Titu; DBC journalist Raju Ahmed; former councillor Abdul Karim Babu; Kamrul Hasan Munna; Shah Nizam Uddin Ahmed; Jubo League leader Shahdat Hossain Saju; Chhatra League leader Habibur Rahman Riyad; and Sohanur Rahman Shuvra.
According to the prosecution, the first charge concerns the killings of six people in and around Chashara and Signboard on July 19, 2024. They include teenagers Adil and Yasin, student Parvez, garment worker Rasel and six-year-old Riya Gope.
The second charge concerns the killings of Abdur Rahman and Mohammad Rakib on July 21, while the third relates to the killings of Badiuzzaman and Abul Hasan on August 5.
Mahmud Hossain, 60, president of the Narayanganj district unit of the Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh and central president of the Revolutionary Garments Workers Solidarity, described the events of August 5, saying he and other protesters were marching from Kali Bazar when they learned that Shamim Osman and his armed supporters were positioned ahead of them.
He said Badiuzzaman, a party activist, was taken from the rear of the procession and attacked near the Shaheed Minar intersection with rods, iron pipes and branches of guava trees.
Mahmud said he rushed to rescue Badiuzzaman and heard Shamim Osman ordering, “Beat him, beat him!”
He alleged that Sabuj Shikder, Habibur Rahman Riyad, Sohanur Rahman Shubho, Ayon Osman and Azmeri Osman beat Badiuzzaman, leaving him critically injured.
Mahmud said he was also struck on the head while trying to rescue Badiuzzaman and later received stitches.
He said the injured Badiuzzaman was placed in a van and taken towards Narayanganj Victoria Hospital, but the vehicle was stopped six times on the way.
They reached the hospital gate at around 4pm, Mahmud said, where several of Shamim's associates, including a man named Chunnu, were present.
He alleged that Chunnu kicked the injured Badiuzzaman and threw him from the van onto the road.
Mahmud said the protesters then dispersed. They returned to the hospital at around 4:15pm after a large procession took to the streets, when doctors told them that Badiuzzaman had died.
Mahmud also described attacks during the movement in other parts of Narayanganj. He said he joined protests in Fatullah, Siddhirganj, Jalkuri Link Road and Narayanganj Sadar following violence against students during the quota reform movement.
He testified that protesters came under repeated attacks involving tear gas and firearms. On August 4, he said, he lost a toe on his right foot after being hit by a tear shell in front of the Rifle Club in Chashara. He also said Abu Hasan Tipu, the district general secretary of his party, was shot during the violence.
Mahmud alleged that Shamim and his associates were directly involved in the attacks and that police were also involved in suppressing the demonstrations.
He further testified that violence took place in Chashara and Jalkuri on July 19 under Shamim Osman's direct leadership.
According to Mahmud, Adil and Yasin, both teenagers, were shot dead by armed cadres of Shamim Osman between 2pm and 2:30pm. Later that evening, he said, a child named Riya Gope was killed by gunfire on DIT Road.
Mahmud said he recorded footage of the violence on his mobile phone and later handed it over to the investigating officer.
At the end of his deposition, he told the tribunal, “We want justice for this injustice and peace for the blood of the martyrs.”
Mosharraf Bepari, father of Rakib, who was killed during the uprising, told the tribunal that his 21-year-old son was the main earning member of their family and that his younger son has a disability.
“My son Rakib supported my family. My other son is a person with disabilities. A phone call at noon on July 21 took everything away from me. They said, ‘Your son has been shot and died.’ Today, I am destitute, but with a heart full of grief, I have only one demand – I want justice for those who took my son away from me,” he testified.
Mosharraf said the Signboard area of Narayanganj was caught up in unrest on July 21, when Rakib joined demonstrations demanding rights.
At around 2pm, he said, he received a phone call informing him that Rakib had been shot.
He rushed to the spot and took his son to Khanpur Hospital, where a doctor declared him dead.
Mosharraf said he wanted to take Rakib's body to their home in Lalpur, Fatullah, but local Awami League members allegedly prevented them from taking it inside the house.
He said he was then forced to take the body to their ancestral home in Jambadip village of Banaripara, Barishal, that night.
Rakib was buried at the family graveyard after his funeral prayers at around 10am on July 22.
Mosharraf also testified about the death of his maternal cousin, whom he said was attacked on the same day.
He said he saw his cousin being beaten and pleaded with the attackers to spare him.
Mosharraf said he took his critically injured cousin to Victoria General Hospital in Narayanganj in a van, but the vehicle was stopped four or five times on the way.
At around 4pm to 4:30pm, he said, they reached the hospital gate, where an attack began. He alleged that Chunnu and Sobuj Shikder kicked his injured cousin out of the moving van.
After fleeing the scene, Mosharraf said they returned to the hospital at around 5pm to 5:30pm and found his cousin lying motionless on the floor. A doctor later declared him dead.
Md Swadhin Mia, a garment worker at a factory in Godnail, Narayanganj, told the tribunal that he decided to join the movement after witnessing the killing of Abu Sayed in Rangpur.
He said he later lost his maternal cousin Badiuzzaman during the protests in Narayanganj.
Recalling July 19, Swadhin said students and members of the public were protesting in Jalkuri when Shamim and his armed cadres allegedly attacked them.
He said he witnessed Adil and Yasin being shot and falling to the ground. Swadhin said he survived the incident and continued participating in the movement.
He then described the events of August 5, saying a procession of students and members of the public was moving towards Kalibazar Gate No. 2 in the morning when a group of people took Badiuzzaman from the rear and assaulted him.
With the help of people in the area, Swadhin said, they managed to rescue Badiuzzaman and place him in a vehicle to take him to hospital.
He alleged that Awami League members stopped the vehicle at four or five places on the way.
They eventually reached the hospital at around 4:30pm, he said.
Describing the incident at the hospital gate, Swadhin testified, “When we were entering through the gate, two criminals named Chunnu and Sobuj Shikder kicked my critically injured brother out of the moving van. They chased us away.”
Swadhin said they returned to the hospital about an hour later, when a doctor declared Badiuzzaman dead.
After giving his statement to the investigating officer, Swadhin appealed to the tribunal for justice.