Bangladesh sentences ex-Dhaka police chief, 2 others to death for protest crackdown

A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced a former Dhaka police chief and two other senior officers to death for their role in the violent street protests of 2024 that led to the ouster of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

A three-judge panel of Bangladesh’s Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD), led by Justice Mohammad Golam Mortuza Mozumder, handed down the verdict after a trial in absentia. Those sentenced to death are former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman, former DMP joint commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakraborty, and additional deputy commissioner Mohammad Akhtarul Islam.

“These three had superior status over their subordinates and are liable for superior command responsibility,” the tribunal said in its judgment. “They are found guilty and hereby awarded a single sentence of death.”

SECOND VERDICT BY RESTRUCTURED TRIBUNAL

The ruling marks the second verdict by the restructured tribunal. Earlier, it sentenced the deposed premier Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in absentia, according to news agency PTI.

The court also handed prison terms to several other officers. Assistant police commissioner Mohammad Imrul was sentenced to six years, inspector Arshad Hossain to four years, and constables Sujon Hossain, Imaj Hossain, and Nasirul Islam to three years each.

The three officers who received the death penalty and assistant commissioner Imrul were tried in absentia after being declared fugitives. The remaining accused appeared in person.

The tribunal found the defendants guilty of crimes against humanity linked to an incident in Dhaka’s Chankharpul area on August 5, 2024, when police gunfire killed six people on the day the government collapsed.

PROSECUTOR SIGNALS APPEAL

Chief prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam said he was unhappy with what he called “relatively lenient punishments” for some of the convicted officers. “Though it is customary to say ‘much obliged’ after any judgment of the court, we intend to file an appeal,” he said.

Last November, the tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia for crimes against humanity related to a violent crackdown on student-led protests. In that verdict, the court described the 78-year-old Awami League leader as the “mastermind and principal architect” of the repression that killed hundreds.

Hasina has been living in India since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, amid massive nationwide protests that brought down her government.

- Ends

With inputs from agencies

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