Case filed against Sheikh Hasina, 25 others in ICC

A case against Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and 25 others has been filed in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their allegedly involvement in crimes against humanity in Bangladesh. 

Martin F. McMahon & Associates on behalf of the two organizations named Human Rights and Development for Bangladesh and Bangladeshi-Americans

in Greater Washington DC has lodge the case in ICC on Thursday.

The case implicates members of the Bangladesh government and state security in crimes against humanity, petitioning the ICC to investigate and prosecute those responsible.

The allegations were cited including torture, forced disappearance, extrajudicial executions and mass murder. Cases include that of Mahmudur Rahman, reported by Amnesty; police abduction of Shukhoranjan Bali, a defense witness of the controversial and discredited International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), reported by Human Rights Watch and abduction and execution of Aminul Islam, a labour rights organizer, reported by Amnesty.

Mass murder cases include the massacre of at least dozens of pro-Sayedee protesters by police on February 28, 2013 following the conviction of opposition leader and religious scholar Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

The massacre of Hefazat-e-Islam protesters, an apolitical religious group, by armed police and paramilitary during Hefazat’s sit-in in Dhaka on May 5 and 6 was cited in the filed case.

The submission implicates leaders, including the Prime Minister and Home Minister, and those directly participant in violations including Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benazir Ahmed, Mehdi Hasan of Dhaka Police Motijhil district and Pradip Das of Chittagong Patchlaish Police Station.

Here is the list of those who were allegedly committed crimes against humanity in Bangladeshas demonstrated in the ICC filing:

The case bisects the level of crimes into two parts as Superior Command Responsibility and Direct Responsibility.

Those leveled as Superior Command Responsibility are as follows: Sheikh Hasina Wajed the Prime Minister Bangladesh, M. K. Alamgir the Minister Home Affairs, Hasanul Haq Inu the Minister Information Affairs, Shamsul Haq Tuku the State Minister Home Affairs, Kamrul Islam the State Minister Law and Parliament, Mahbubul Alam Hanif the Joint Secretary General Bangladesh Awami League, Hassan Mahmud Khandakar the Inspector General Bangladesh Police, Mokhlesur Rahman the Director General Rapid Action Battalion, Aziz Ahmed the Director General Border Guard Bangladesh.

Those leveled as Direct Responsibility are as follows:

Benazir Ahmed the Commissioner Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Prodip Kumar the OC of Patchlaish Police Station, Mehdi Hassan the ADC of Motijhil Zone DMP, Harun-ur-Rashid the DC of Lalbagh  Division DMP, Salauddin the OC of Mirpur Model Thana, Moshiur Rahman the ADC of Detective Branch, Khalillur Rahman the OC of Darus Salam, Adbul Latif the OC of Kafrul Thana, Ashik the Sub Inspector of Karful Thana, Rafikul Islam the OC of Jatrabari Thana, Asaduzzaman Nur the Metropolitan Magistrate, Shahidul Islam the Metropolitan Magistrate, M. Mustafizur Rahman the Metropolitan Magistrate, Harunur Rashid the Metropolitan Magistrate, Sajjadul Haq Shihab the Public Prosecutor.