Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2) has sentenced six people, including a former member of parliament, to death in a crime against humanity case over the killing of seven youths and the burning of six of their bodies in Ashulia in August 2024.
The tribunal also handed down life imprisonment to seven others, sentenced two to seven years in jail, and acquitted one accused who had earlier turned approver in the case.
The verdict was delivered on Thursday by a three-judge panel led by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury. The tribunal began reading the judgement shortly before 1pm, with the sentencing portion announced minutes later.
Those sentenced to death are former Dhaka-19 lawmaker Md Saiful Islam, former officer-in-charge of Ashulia police station AFM Sayed Roni, former assistant sub-inspector Bishwajit Saha, Jubo League activist Roni Bhuiyan, former sub-inspector Abdul Malek and former police constable Mukul Chokder.
Seven former senior police officials were sentenced to life imprisonment. They include former Deputy Inspector General of Police Syed Nurul Islam, former Superintendent of Police Md Asaduzzaman Ripon, former Additional Superintendent of Police (Crimes and Operations) Md Abdullahil Kafi, former Assistant Superintendent of Police (Savar Circle) Md Shahidul Islam, former inspectors Mohammad Masudur Rahman and Nirmol Kumar Das, and former Detective Branch inspector Md Arafat Hossain.
Former sub-inspector Arafat Uddin and former assistant sub-inspector Kamrul Hasan were each sentenced to seven years in prison.
The tribunal also ordered the confiscation of former lawmaker Saiful Islam’s properties, directing that they be transferred to the state and distributed among the families of the victims. Several of the convicts were additionally fined, with penalties ranging from Tk5,000 to Tk100,000.
Former sub-inspector Sheikh Abzalul Haque, who had earlier pleaded guilty and become an approver, was acquitted by the court.
The case relates to violence that took place in Ashulia, Savar, during the uprising in August 2024. According to the prosecution, a total of 29 people were killed in Savar during the unrest. One youth was shot dead on 4 August, while six others were killed the following day.
Prosecutors told the tribunal that the accused committed crimes against humanity by killing unarmed civilians and then attempting to destroy evidence by burning their bodies. Investigators said police officers placed the victims’ bodies inside a van and set it on fire to make it appear that protesters had torched the vehicle. One of the victims was reportedly still alive when the fire was started.
The tribunal took cognisance of the formal charges on 2 July 2025, accusing the defendants of shooting six youths on 5 August 2024, killing five instantly and later burning their bodies along with another injured youth. The investigation agency launched its probe on 6 October 2024 and submitted its report on 19 June 2025.
Charges were formally framed against 16 accused on 21 August 2025. Eight of them were in custody, while the remaining eight were tried in absentia after being declared fugitives. The tribunal had earlier ordered the publication of notices in national newspapers, warning that the trial would proceed without them if they failed to surrender.
The seven victims named in the case are Sazzad Hossain Sazal, As Sabur, Tanjil Mahmud Sujoy, Bayejid Bostami, Abul Hossain, Omar Faruk and Mohammad Shahabul Islam.
The verdict is being seen as one of the most significant rulings by the tribunal in recent years, with families of the victims and rights groups closely watching the next legal steps.
