July Uprising: Inu sentenced to 10 years’ jail in crimes against humanity case
Staff Correspondent
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 on Tuesday sentenced former minister and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haq Inu to 10 years of imprisonment in a case over killing of six people in Kushtia during the July 2024 uprising.
The three-member bench of ICT-2 led by its Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam handed down the punishment.
Earlier on May 14, the ICT kept the verdict pending in the case after concluding the law-point arguments from both sides.
The prosecution submitted the investigation report against Inu on September 11, 2025.
The recording of testimony began on November 30.
A total of 10 prosecution witnesses testified in the case while two witnesses testified on behalf of the defence.
According to the case statement, six protesters were shot dead at different locations in Kushtia town on August 5, 2024.
They were Ashraful Islam, Suruj Ali Babu, student Abdullah Al Mustakin, Osama, businessman Bablu Farazi and employee Yusuf Sheikh.
A case was filed against Inu before the International Crimes Tribunal.
Based on the findings of the investigation agency, the prosecution later submitted formal charges against him, bringing eight counts.
One of the charges is Inu, as president of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD), a key partner in the then-ruling 14-party alliance, used his senior political position to encourage the suppression of the movement.
Besides, On July 18 last year, in an interview with the Mumbai-based Indian media outlet Mirror Now, he allegedly labelled the protesters as members of the BNP, Jamaat, terrorists and communal forces in an attempt to discredit the movement and incited the use of force against them.
The second charge is on July 19 last year, a meeting of the then-ruling 14-party alliance was held at Ganabhaban under the chairmanship of Sheikh Hasina, with Inu in attendance.
The meeting decided to deploy the military nationwide to suppress the quota reform and anti-discrimination student movement and ordered security forces to shoot unarmed and peaceful protesters on sight.
According to the charges, Inu, as president of JASAD and a senior partner in the ruling alliance, was directly involved in making and implementing that decision and instructed its execution.
