Dhaka, Sep 15 (V7N) – Mahmudur Rahman, editor of the Daily Amar Desh, has testified at the International Crimes Tribunal-1 against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and three others in connection with crimes against humanity during the July coup.

The testimony was heard on Monday (Sept 15) before the tribunal bench headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Majumder.

In his deposition, Mahmudur Rahman alleged that in 2008, then Army Chief Moin U Ahmed reached an understanding with Pranab Mukherjee—then India’s Foreign Minister and later President—to bring the Awami League to power, in exchange for job security and a guaranteed “safe exit.”

He further claimed that the 2009 BDR massacre was a conspiracy orchestrated by Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh along with Awami League leaders, with the objective of weakening the Bangladesh Army. According to him, the rise of what he described as “Awami fascism” was part of a deliberate and meticulously executed plan that also involved foreign powers.

So far, the tribunal has recorded the testimony of 45 witnesses, including family members of victims, survivors, eyewitnesses, medical professionals, and state witnesses, against Sheikh Hasina, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun.

On Monday morning, Chowdhury Mamun, who transitioned from an accused to a public witness, also appeared before the tribunal.

Meanwhile, at the International Crimes Tribunal-2, proceedings are scheduled to begin today in the Ashulia murder and arson case, where five bodies were burned and one person was killed alive on August 5 last year during the July Movement.

END/SMA/AJ