Dhaka (Bangladesh): A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Habibur Rahman and two other senior police officers to death for their alleged role in the violent street protests of 2024 that culminated in the ouster of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The verdict was delivered by a three-judge bench of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD), headed by Justice Mohammad Golam Mortuza Mozumder. Along with Rahman, former DMP joint commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakraborty and additional deputy commissioner Mohammad Akhtarul Islam were awarded capital punishment following a trial conducted in absentia.
This marks the second major verdict by the restructured ICT-BD, which had earlier sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death over crimes linked to the same unrest.
Pronouncing the judgment, the tribunal held the three senior officers guilty under the doctrine of command responsibility, noting that they held positions of authority over their subordinates during the violence. The court ruled that their actions and inaction directly contributed to the killings and warranted the maximum punishment.
In the same case, Dhaka assistant police commissioner Mohammad Imrul was sentenced to six years in prison, inspector Arshad Hossain to four years, while three constables — Sujon Hossain, Imaj Hossain and Nasirul Islam — were awarded three-year jail terms each. The three officers sentenced to death and assistant commissioner Imrul were declared fugitives earlier and were tried in absentia, while the remaining accused faced the trial in person.
The tribunal found the accused guilty in connection with the killing of six people who were shot dead by police in Dhaka’s Chankharpul area on August 5, 2024 — the day Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed amid massive street protests.
Reacting to the verdict, ICT-BD chief prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam expressed dissatisfaction with what he described as relatively lighter sentences for some of the convicted officers. He indicated that the prosecution plans to challenge the punishments awarded to those who received prison terms.
In November last year, Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by the same tribunal for crimes against humanity linked to her government’s crackdown on student-led protests. The court had described the 78-year-old Awami League leader as the central figure behind the violent repression that left hundreds dead.
Hasina has been residing in India since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, following the intensification of nationwide protests.
