DHAKA : Martyred Abu Sayed emerged as a shining symbol of courage in the July Uprising, standing tall in the face of police bullets, he spread his arms and bared his chest as if to declare, “This killing of people must stop.”
The Chief Prosecutor made the remarks yesterday while placing his opening statement in a crimes against humanity case over the killing of Begum Rokeya University (BRU) student during the July Mass Uprising of 2024, at the International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2).
Muhammad Tajul Islam went on saying, as part of the pre-announced central programme of the anti-discrimination student movement, on July 16, 2024, students of BRU along with general school and college students joined a massive protest rally.
“It was a march of youthful defiance and resistance against discrimination. When the procession advanced from the Rangpur city’s Lalbagh area towards the university, a large contingent of armed police obstructed the students. An altercation ensued, after which police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse them. In addition, under the leadership of the fifth accused in this case, Md Arifuzzaman alias Jibon, five policemen struck Abu Sayed on the head with steel and wooden batons, causing profuse bleeding,” he added.
The chief prosecutor further said while bleeding from the police baton charge, Abu Sayed still spread his arms wide and bared his chest as if to say, “This killing of people must stop.”
“At that moment, the rifle of accused no eight, former police ASI Md Amir Hossain, roared. The first bullet hit his abdomen, leaving him stunned. Still, he stood again with chest outstretched. Then accused no nine, former constable Sujon Chandra Roy, fired two more rounds at him in succession. Afterwards, Abu Sayed crossed the road divider and sat down. When a fellow protester tried to lift him from the ground, he collapsed again. The students carrying Abu Sayed then set off in a rickshaw toward Rangpur Medical College Hospital. He, however, died of his injuries on his way to hospital,” the chief prosecutor added.
Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam demanded justice over the brutal killing that shocked the entire nation. Following the statement, the prosecution screened two video clips showing how Abu Sayed was shot from close range by policemen.
Martyr Abu Sayed’s father, Makbul Hossain, who was present in the courtroom, was seen wiping his tears during the hearing.
At the end of the day’s proceedings, Justice Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, chairman of the three-member ICT-2 panel, adjourned the hearing till today, when the tribunal is scheduled to begin recording witness testimonies.
