Arrest warrants issued against Hasina, seven others in councillor Ekramul killing case

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Sunday issued arrest warrants for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and seven others after accepting formal charges against 11 people in connection with the 2018 killing of Ekramul Haque in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar.

The three-member bench of International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, accepted the prosecution's charges involving crimes against humanity over the killing.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam said the tribunal had accepted the formal charges, issued arrest warrants for the accused who remain fugitives, and set August 25 for the next hearing.

The tribunal also ordered that the three accused currently in custody in separate cases be produced before the court.

The accused are Sheikh Hasina; former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal; former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader; former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed; Brig. Gen. Md. Mahbub Alam; Brig. Gen. Miftah Uddin; Col. Anwar Latif Khan; Maj. Ruhul Amin; army officer Nazmus Sakib; former lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi; and army officer Ashikur Rahman.

Among them, Bodi, Anwar Latif Khan and Mahbub Alam are currently in custody in separate cases.

Ekramul, then councillor of Ward No. 3 of Teknaf Municipality and president of the local unit of the Awami Jubo League, was killed in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar, on May 26, 2018, during what law enforcement authorities described as a gunfight.

The killing drew widespread public attention after an audio recording, purportedly of Ekramul’s final phone conversation with his daughter, circulated widely on social media, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding his death.