The International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2) has released the full written judgment in the murder case of Abu Sayed, widely regarded as the first martyr of the July Uprising.
According to tribunal sources, the complete verdict spans 809 pages and was made public on Sunday, several months after the judgment was initially delivered.
Earlier, on 9 April, the ICT-2 bench headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury announced its decision in the case, sentencing two police personnel to death for their involvement in the killing. Three other accused were handed life imprisonment, while additional defendants received varying terms of imprisonment.
The tribunal had originally fixed 5 March for the delivery of the verdict after hearing final arguments from both the prosecution and defence.
Abu Sayed, a student of the 12th batch of the English Department at Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur was shot dead by police on 16 July 2024 at Park Mor in front of the university campus during the July Uprising. The incident later led to a crimes-against-humanity case being filed before the tribunal.
A total of 30 individuals were named as accused in the case, including former Begum Rokeya University Vice-Chancellor Md Hasibur Rashid. Of them, 24 accused, including the former vice-chancellor, remain absconding.
So far, six accused have been arrested. They include former university proctor Shariful Islam, former assistant registrar Rafiul Hasan, former contractual employee Anwar Parvez, former assistant sub-inspector Amir Hossain, former constable Sujan Chandra Roy, and Chhatra League leader Imran Chowdhury alias Akash.
The prosecution team argued that strong and consistent evidence had been presented to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt, while defence lawyers maintained that the allegations were not proven and sought acquittal of the accused.
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