Trials have not begun for direct attacks during July mass uprising

The authorities in the city have not start a single trial amid some 800 cases filed over killing hundreds of protesters and injuring many more though two years of the July mass uprising have been elapsed.  

After the political changeover, more than eight hundred cases have been filed at police stations across the capital seeking justice for these incidents. But even two years after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, not a single trial has begun. Among these, investigations into 68 cases have been completed, but charge sheets have been submitted in only 37. In another 31 cases, the allegations were not proven. While trials of top leaders of the former government and administration, including those who gave orders and planned the crackdown, are proceeding swiftly at the International Crimes Tribunal, there is no progress in the trials of those accused of directly participating in the field to suppress the movement.

In 37 cases filed in Dhaka metropolis over allegations of direct participation in attacks on the student-public movement, 1,330 people have been accused after completion of investigations. However, none of them has yet been brought to trial. In 31 cases, including 22 murder cases, the allegations were not found to be true, and recommendations have been made to exonerate 4,365 people, which is three times the number of the accused.

Hundreds of individuals have been named as accused in the first information reports of the cases related to the July movement incidents. Investigation officers are struggling to prove the truth of the allegations against them. Because many of the accused have permanent addresses in various districts across the country, it has become difficult to collect evidence and testimony in support of the allegations against them and to identify eyewitnesses. In addition, recording witness statements, collecting and verifying eyewitness testimony, forensic reports, and various types of digital information and data is taking time.

Allegations Found True in 37 Cases at 16 Police Stations

Charge sheets have been submitted to court after finding the allegations true in 37 cases of murder and attempted murder. A total of 1,330 people have been accused in these cases. Among them, charge sheets have been submitted in three attempted murder cases at Dhanmondi Police Station. There are 57 accused in these three cases. In one attempted murder case at Kalabagan Police Station, 58 people have been accused. In two attempted murder cases at Chawkbazar Police Station, 70 have been accused; in two murder cases at Lalbagh, 52; in two cases at Kotwali Police Station, 56; in one attempted murder case at Khilgaon Police Station, 44; in one attempted murder case at Rampura, 12; and in three murder and three attempted murder cases at Jatrabari, 188 people have been accused.

In one murder and another attempted murder case at Kadamtali, 43 people have been accused; in seven cases at Mohammadpur, 250; in three murder cases at Mirpur, 176; in one murder case at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, 15; in two murder cases at Pallabi, 169; in one murder case at Kafrul, 62; in one murder case at Gulshan, 25; and in two murder cases at Badda Police Station, charge sheets have been submitted against 53 people.

Allegations Not Found True in 31 Cases Including 22 Murders

Final reports have been submitted to court after not finding the allegations true in two cases at Dhanmondi Police Station, one at Motijheel, four at Paltan Model Police Station, two at Shahjahanpur Police Station, one at Khilgaon Police Station, four at Jatrabari Police Station, two at Kadamtali Police Station, six at Mohammadpur Police Station, one at Adabor Police Station, one at Mirpur Model Police Station, one at Shah Ali Police Station, one at Gulshan Police Station, two at Badda Police Station, and three at Bhatara Police Station.

An analysis of these reported cases reveals that cases were filed with fake complainants and fake national identity cards. Among them, a person named Toha Khan made a fake NID and filed a case showing Ali Mia as dead. But the investigation revealed that no one named Ali was killed in the incident. In addition, cases were also filed showing living people as dead. Cases were filed at wrong police stations by showing the wrong location of the murder incident. As a result, in many instances, two or more cases were filed over a single incident.
By August 1, charge sheets have been submitted in 37 cases after completing investigations. Among them, the case of the killing of truck driver Md. Hossain in Mohammadpur is at the stage of framing charges. However, the hearing date has been postponed seven times. In the other cases, dates have been set for execution of arrest warrants, acceptance of charge sheets, and issuance of notices to complainants. In addition, charge sheets in 10 cases have been accepted and transferred to the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court for trial.

Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan told Agamir Somoy that the most concerning aspects of the July-related cases are the unusually prolonged investigations and the fact that although a huge number of people were named as accused in the first information reports, investigations did not find evidence of the involvement of a significant portion of them. The absence of proof in an investigation does not mean that killings or violence did not occur in July; rather, it means that in a specific case, acceptable evidence could not be found to support the description in the first information report or the allegations against a specific accused. This distinction is important.

BNP Joint Law Affairs Secretary Syed Joynul Abedin Mesbah, saying that the former home affairs adviser and law adviser of the interim government bear responsibility, said that the failure to begin trial in any July mass uprising case so far is an extreme failure. Everyone bears responsibility here.

Defense lawyer Gazi Faisal Islam said that although cases are being filed one after another, the accused are not getting bail. Because the allegations are not true, no report is being submitted to the court in these cases. As a result, the defense side is being deprived of justice. The government should quickly dispose of baseless cases and release the accused.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruki told Agamir Somoy that the cases are being investigated with the utmost importance. Trials in the cases that have completed investigation will be started quickly. The process of forming a special cell is continuing so that the cases can be disposed of quickly. After the trial begins, witnesses will be produced quickly. Efforts are ongoing to ensure that the victim families receive justice.

When contacted multiple times to learn about the investigation, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Akhtar Hossain, spokesperson of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) Media and Public Relations Division, did not receive any calls.