Sheikh Hasina among 41 charged in Shapla Chattar case

The prosecution has formally submitted charges against 41 people, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former army chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed, in connection with the 5 May 2013 crackdown on a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka.

The charge sheet was filed with the Registrar of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday morning by Prosecutor Zahirul Amin, accompanied by Prosecutor Marjina Raihan.

The case is scheduled to be heard by Tribunal-2, a three-member bench led by Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, later on Monday as the court considers whether to take the charges into formal cognisance.

According to the prosecution, nine of the accused are currently in custody. They include former minister Dr Dipu Moni, former state minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku, Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan, former inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Haque, former deputy inspector general of police Mollah Nazrul Islam, Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee advisory board president Shahriar Kabir, former deputy inspector general Abdul Jalil Mondal, and journalists Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Babu.

The prosecution alleges that 58 people were killed in incidents linked to the security operation carried out during and after the Hefazat-e-Islam demonstration on 5 May 2013.

Investigators said they had identified 32 victims in Dhaka, 20 in Narayanganj, five in Chattogram and one in Cumilla as part of their investigation.

The tribunal’s decision on whether to formally accept the charges will determine the next stage of the legal proceedings. If the tribunal admits the charges, the case will move towards trial under the ICT process.

The Shapla Chattar operation remains one of the most debated episodes in Bangladesh’s recent political history, with differing accounts over the number of casualties and the conduct of the security forces. The current proceedings represent the latest legal effort to examine allegations arising from the events of May 2013.

The accused are entitled to contest the allegations during the judicial process, and the tribunal will determine the case based on the evidence presented before it.