On Sunday, June 1, prosecutors at the International Crimes Tribunal officially filed charges against three individuals in connection with last year’s mass killings during the July–August crackdown. Among those accused is former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, along with ex-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

The charges, filed around 11:45 a.m., stem from allegations that the state ordered indiscriminate violence to suppress the student-led anti-discrimination movement in 2023. According to investigators, the July crackdown left approximately 1,500 people dead, most of them students and unarmed civilians.

Chief Prosecutor Advocate Tazul Islam stated during a seminar at the National Press Club on May 31 that trials related to the July–August massacre will make visible progress by December. He assured that the legal proceedings would be conducted with such thoroughness that no one could question the credibility of the process.

He further added that while several key abduction cases have already been investigated, arrests remain a challenge in certain instances. Reports for many cases are expected by the end of June. On May 12, an investigation report was submitted naming Sheikh Hasina as one of the main figures behind the crackdown.

The tribunal, led by Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumdar, had earlier ordered the investigation against Hasina and 45 others to be completed by April 20, following a petition from the prosecution.

The charges claim that Hasina, during her time in power, issued direct orders that resulted in mass shootings of peaceful demonstrators, aiming to suppress dissent through state-sponsored violence. Proceedings are ongoing in what could become one of the most significant trials in the tribunal’s history.