News Flash
DHAKA, Aug 24, 2025 (BSS) - The physician who conducted the autopsy on July Uprising martyr Begum Rokeya University (BRU) student Abu Sayed today testified as a prosecution witness (PW) in the crimes against humanity case against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and ex-inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
Dr Razibul Islam, assistant professor of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Rangpur Medical College, in his testimony described how he revealed the true cause of death of Abu Sayed despite immense pressure and temptations from law enforcement agencies and fellow doctors.
"I conducted the autopsy on July 16, 2024, and recovered many pellets from inside his body. My report stated that internal haemorrhage caused by those pellets led to his death. But when I went to submit the report to the investigation officer of Tajhat Police Station, he refused to accept it and asked me to rewrite it. He declined to take my report three times," Dr Razibul told the tribunal.
He said on July 30, 2024, he was summoned to the room of Rangpur Medical College vice principal where he found SP Siddique of Rangpur City Special Branch, DC Maruf of Rangpur Metropolitan Police and Dr Chandan, president of Rangpur unit of Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad (SWACHIP), present.
"Many other law enforcement and intelligence officials were waiting outside. Inside the room, they pressured me to change the cause of death in the report and asked me to mention head injury or neurological shock, instead. They even threatened to implicate me in a case if I did not comply, claiming they had intelligence reports about me," he testified.
As he resisted, they tried to lure him with offers, said the doctor. "They offered me foreign trips to Singapore and Thailand. When I said I had no passport, they offered a two-week family vacation in Cox's Bazar with all arrangements. I refused. I told the vice principal that the world had already witnessed Abu Sayed's killing on live TV, and if I report head injury as the cause, people would lose faith in doctors," Dr Razibul said.
Breaking into tears during testimony, he added: "In the final post-mortem, I avoided the word gunshot but wrote pellet injuries as the cause of death. Despite having a wife and two children, I risked our lives to tell the truth."
The witness pleaded for justice and punishment of the culprits. After Dr Razibul, Kushtia journalist Shariful Islam testified in the case. Both of them were cross-examined by the defence. Till today, a total of 19 witnesses testified in the case.
The tribunal on July 10 indicted the three accused for their roles in crimes against humanity committed during the July-August 2024 mass uprising.
Earlier on June 17, ICT-1 published notices in two national dailies asking Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to surrender by June 24. "As per Rule 31 of the International Crimes (Tribunal-1) Rules of Procedure 2010 (Amendment) 2025, they are ordered to surrender at this tribunal on June 24, 2025. Otherwise, the trial will proceed in absentia under Section 10A of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973," the notice said.
The tribunal on June 16 directed the authorities to issue the notices after taking cognizance of the formal charges filed on June 1.
Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam informed the court that Hasina and Kamal were absconding, with intelligence reports suggesting they were in India.
The prosecution has brought five charges of crimes against humanity and mass killings against Hasina, Kamal, and Abdullah Al-Mamun, following the probe report filed by the ICT investigation agency on May 12.
