The verdict in a crimes against humanity case involving the shooting and burning of six people in Ashulia, Savar, during the July mass uprising is set to be delivered today, Thursday. Former lawmaker Muhammad Saiful Islam is among the 16 individuals accused in the case.

A three-member panel of the International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, will announce the judgment. The other members of the bench are Justice Md Manjurul Bashid and Justice Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir.

Out of the 16 accused, eight are currently in custody. Those detained include former Dhaka district additional superintendent of police Abdullahil Kafi, former Savar Circle additional SP Md Shahidul Islam, former DB North inspector Md Arafat Hossain, former Ashulia police sub-inspector Abdul Malek, Arafat Uddin, Kamrul Hasan, Sheikh Abzalul Haque, and former constable Mukul Chowdhury.

The remaining eight accused are absconding. They include former MP Muhammad Saiful Islam, former Dhaka Range DIG Syed Nurul Islam, former Dhaka district SP Md Asaduzzaman Ripon, former Ashulia police station officer-in-charge (acting) AFM Sayed, former inspectors Mohammad Masudur Rahman and Nirmal Kumar Das, former assistant sub-inspector Bishwajit Saha, and Jubo League activist Rony Bhuiyan.

According to the case details, on 5 August 2024—the day the Awami League government fell—six people were shot and their bodies burned within the jurisdiction of Ashulia police station. One of the victims was still alive but critically injured at the time and was also burned. Those killed included Sajjad Hossain, As-Sabur, Tanzil Mahmud, Bayezid Bostami, and Abul Hossain, among others.

This will be the first verdict delivered by International Crimes Tribunal-2. Earlier, International Crimes Tribunal-1 has already handed down verdicts in two other cases related to crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising. In one such case, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan were sentenced to death on 17 November. Former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun received a five-year prison sentence after turning approver and giving a confessional statement.

More recently, on 26 January, Tribunal-1 sentenced former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman and two others to death for crimes against humanity committed in the Chankharpul area of the capital during the same uprising. Five additional accused received varying prison terms.