Two ex-cops to be hanged in Abu Sayed killing case
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 in Dhaka today sentenced former assistant sub-inspector Amir Hossain and ex-constable Sujan Chandra Roy to death for their role in the killing of Abu Sayed, a student of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, during the July 2024 uprising.
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Several of the remaining 28 accused were handed life imprisonment, while others received varying prison terms.
The three-member tribunal, led by Chairman Justice Md Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, pronounced the verdict around 12:45pm.
Earlier in the day, six arrested accused -- former university proctor Shariful Islam, former assistant sub-inspector Amir Hossain, former constable Sujan Chandra Roy, former assistant registrar Rafiul Hasan, former contractual employee of the registrar’s office Anwar Parvez and banned Chhatra League leader Imran Chowdhury alias Akash -- were brought before the tribunal ahead of the verdict.
Security was tightened both inside and outside the tribunal premises, and the proceedings were broadcast live on Bangladesh Television (BTV).
Family members of Abu Sayed, described as the first martyr of the July uprising, attended the hearing and demanded the death penalty. “We want the highest punishment, death penalty, for those who killed my brother,” said Abu Hossain, one of Sayed’s brothers. Another brother, Ramzan Ali, expressed satisfaction with the judicial process so far but reiterated the demand for capital punishment.
A total of 30 people, including former Begum Rokeya University vice-chancellor Hasibur Rashid and former Rangpur Metropolitan Police commissioner Md Moniruzzaman, are accused in the case. They face charges of murder, attempted murder, superior command responsibility, abetment, and complicity in crimes against humanity.
Twenty-four of the accused, including Hasibur and Moniruzzaman, remain fugitives, while six were in custody for today’s proceedings.
Abu Sayed was shot dead on July 16, 2024, during a student protest in Rangpur against the quota system in government jobs. A video showing him being shot by police while defiant went viral, turning him into an icon of resistance. His killing is widely seen as a turning point that galvanised the mass uprising, which culminated in the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, 2024.
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