The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has directed the authorities concerned to publish a notification in two newspapers, ordering fugitive former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to appear before the court within seven days.
A three-member bench, headed by Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, passed the order after hearing a petition in this regard on Monday, said the ICT’s Chief Prosecutor Advocate Tajul Islam.
He said the court ordered the authorities concerned to issue the notification to be published in a Bengali and an English newspaper.
UNB adds: Taking five charges into cognisance against the accused, including Sheikh Hasina, the court also set 24 June for the next hearing in the case.
The court also reissued arrest warrants for those who are absconding.
Earlier in the day, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was produced before the tribunal.
Following the hearing, the court ordered the publication of a summons for Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Kamal as they have been absconding.
The chief prosecutor formally submitted the charges against Hasina, accusing her of responsibility for atrocities during the July-August pro-democracy uprising.
According to the case statement, nearly 1500 people were killed during last year’s anti-government movement in the country.
Amid intense protests on 5 August last year, then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country and took shelter in India.
Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus later assumed power and restructured the tribunal to prosecute those accused of mass killings, with the first case filed against Hasina.
Following a six-month investigation, the tribunal’s agency submitted its final report on 12 May and formally presented it before the court on Sunday.
