Crimes against humanity in July uprising: Hanif sentenced to death, three Kushtia leaders get imprisonment until death
Photo: Collected
The International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced Mahbubul Alam Hanif, joint general secretary of the Awami League, whose activities are banned, to death. The verdict was delivered around 12 noon today (Thursday) in a case of crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising. The court sentenced three other accused in the same case to imprisonment until death.
Those sentenced to imprisonment until death are Kushtia district Awami League President Sadar Uddin Khan, General Secretary Azgar Ali and Kushtia town Awami League General Secretary Ataur Rahman Ata. The court also ordered the confiscation of half the property of the four accused.
The verdict was delivered by a three-member judicial panel of International Crimes Tribunal-2 led by its chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury. The other two members of the panel are Judge Md Manjurul Basid and Judge Noor Mohammad Shahriar Kabir.
Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim presented the closing arguments for the state on 5 October; state-appointed lawyer Amir Hossain presented the defence arguments on 7 October. After the arguments of both sides ended on 7 October, the tribunal kept the case pending for verdict. Last Tuesday, today was fixed for delivering the verdict.
Case documents say that while speaking in front of the Kushtia district Awami League office on 27 July 2024, Azgar Ali had said there were instructions from party leader Hanif to suppress the movement by any means. The prosecution gave weight to this statement during the arguments. The prosecution claims the killings in Kushtia were carried out under the influence of the accused’s statements, instructions and organisational roles.
There were three charges against the accused: being present at and supporting Awami League leader Obaidul Quader’s remark that the Chhatra League alone was enough to suppress the movement; ordering the killing of students and people and taking part in a conspiracy at a meeting in Kushtia on 29 July; and involvement in the killing of six people.
Background
According to a bdnews24.com report of 7 October 2026, the prosecution submitted formal charges to the tribunal on 6 October 2025 over the killing of six people in Kushtia during the July uprising; the trial then began on 2 November with the framing of charges against four people including Hanif.
In a separate case with eight charges, including ordering the killing of six people in Kushtia on 5 August 2024, Tribunal-2 sentenced JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment, Prothom Alo reported on 30 June 2026.
At a glance
According to a report by The Business Standard of 17 November 2025, International Crimes Tribunal-1 that day sentenced Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in a case of crimes against humanity during the July uprising.
Sources
Background sources: bdnews24.com, 7 October 2026; Prothom Alo, 30 June 2026; The Business Standard, 17 November 2025
