The prosecution of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Sunday filed formal charges against Awami League joint general secretary and former lawmaker Mahbubul Alam Hanif and three other party leaders for their alleged involvement in the killing of six protesters during the July 2024 uprising in Kushtia.

The other accused are Kushtia district Awami League president Md Sadar Uddin Khan, general secretary Md Ali Asgar Ali, and Kushtia town Awami League general secretary Ataur Rahman Ata.

Prosecutor Mizanul Islam submitted the charges before the three-member ICT-2 bench, headed by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury.

The tribunal set Monday to decide whether it would take cognisance of the three counts of charges. All four accused are reportedly at large.

According to the prosecution, Hanif and the three local leaders met at the Kushtia Awami League office on July 27, 2024, and allegedly ordered their followers to use “maximum force” against protesters, branding them as criminals.

The second charge states that Hanif, along with Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader, made inflammatory remarks at a press conference at the party president’s political office in Dhanmondi on July 15, 2024. They allegedly claimed that the Awami League and Chhatra League were capable of containing the student movement and described the protesters as members of Jamaat-e-Islami, criminals, and communal forces — statements the prosecution says were intended to justify violence.

The third charge alleges that on August 5, 2024, Hanif and the three Kushtia leaders coordinated an attack on unarmed protesters, during which party activists, with police support, opened fire.

Between 1:30pm and 4:00pm that day, six people were shot dead in separate incidents across Kushtia. The victims were identified as labourer Ashraful Islam, trader Babul Farazi, jobholder Yunus, and students Abdullah Al Mustakin and Md Usama, along with Suruz Ali Babu. They were participating in or supporting the student-led ‘March to Dhaka’ programme.

Earlier, on September 25, the tribunal received eight counts of crimes against humanity charges against detained Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasod) president Hasanul Haq Inu for his alleged command responsibility over the violent crackdown in Kushtia and other areas. Those charges also include the killing of the six protesters.