July martyr's father recounts son’s killing Mohammadpur, testifies before ICT

Monir Hossain, father of July martyr Shahriar Hossain Rokon, on Wednesday testified before International Crimes Tribunal-1 as the fifth prosecution witness in a case over the killing of nine people in the capital’s Mohammadpur during the July mass uprising. 

The victims included Rokon and Residential Model College student Farhan Faiyaz.

He described how his son was shot during the anti-discrimination student movement on July 19, 2024. 

“I am a small raw materials trader. Rokon was my eldest son and he also worked like me,” Monir, 54, said in his testimony. 

He said protesters had gathered in front of Mayur Villa in Mohammadpur, when police and armed Awami League activists wearing helmets opened fire on young protesters. 

“Suddenly, my nephews Sohel and Alamin came running and told me, ‘Uncle, Rokon has been shot. He has been taken to Momtaz Trauma Hospital,’” he said.

Monir said he immediately went to the hospital and found his son lying motionless on a stretcher.

Doctors told him that Rokon had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and that the hospital could not provide the necessary treatment. They advised him to take Rokon immediately to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.

He said he took his son to Suhrawardy Hospital, where doctors informed him that Rokon died.

At this point in his testimony, Monir broke down in tears in the tribunal.

“When I asked for my son’s death certificate, the doctor instead rebuked me and refused to issue any certificate,” he said.

Attack on way home with body

Monir also told the tribunal that the family faced violence while taking Rokon’s body home.

“When we reached the Mohammadpur bus stand with Rokon’s body, we saw Awami League activists wearing helmets creating chaos and firing extensively,” he said.

“Some of them had sticks, some had firearms, and they were wearing helmets and carrying sharp machetes. The entire area had turned into a scene of destruction,” he added.

The family eventually took Rokon’s body to Rayerbazar Intellectual Martyrs Cemetery, where he was buried.

Monir called for exemplary punishment for those responsible for his son’s killing.

In his testimony, he sought punishment for 28 accused persons allegedly involved in the killings, including then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Fazle Noor Taposh, former textiles and jute minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak, former police commissioner Habibur Rahman and former additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Biplob Kumar Sarkar.