Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, Muhammad Tazul Islam, has stated that the atrocities committed in July–August 2024 shocked both Bangladesh and the global conscience.
In his opening remarks before submitting formal charges against Sheikh Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, he described the period as a time when state power was grossly misused to suppress a just, peaceful movement led by unarmed citizens—especially students, women, and children—demanding an end to systemic discrimination.
Tazul Islam emphasized that the accused orchestrated a widespread and systematic campaign of violence using state forces and affiliated political groups, resulting in murder, enforced disappearances, torture, and even burning victims alive.
He described the crackdown as a "Coordinated Extermination Plan," targeting those who participated in what came to be known as the "Monsoon Revolution"—a mass uprising against years of political oppression.
Presenting the basis of the case, he cited eyewitness accounts, video footage, drone and CCTV evidence, audio clips of phone conversations, forensic digital analysis, media content, official documents, and reports from national and international bodies.
“This trial is not a pursuit of vengeance,” he declared. “It is a commitment to a future where genocide and crimes against humanity are never tolerated. No one is above the law.”
Honoring the victims, he called for a fair and evidence-based trial that would stand as a testament to a nation’s resilience and democratic rebirth.
