The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Thursday sent journalists Mozammel Haq Babu and Farzana Rupa, along with former foreign minister Dipu Moni, to jail after showing them arrested in a crimes against humanity case linked to the killings during the Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel in May 5–6, 2013.

The prosecution alleged that the two journalists had instigated and provoked violence during the crackdown on Hefazat activists.

A three-member tribunal led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar passed the order after the accused were produced before the court in the morning.

The tribunal fixed June 7 for submitting the investigation report in the case.

Earlier, on May 7 the tribunal ordered the jail authorities to produce the three before it following a prosecution plea.

Chief prosecutor Md Aminul Islam later told reporters that a ‘misleading’ investigative report titled Samikaran, aired on Ekattor Television shortly after the May 5, 2013 crackdown at Shapla Chattar, was aimed at diverting public attention from the killings.

Mozammel was former Ekattor Television managing director while Farzana Rupa was the channel’s former chief reporter.

The chief prosecutor on May 5 said that investigators had confirmed the identities of 58 people killed during the May 2013 crackdown on Hefazat-e-Islam activists.

Of them, 32 were killed in Dhaka, mostly at Shapla Chattar, he said, adding that 20 more were killed in Narayanganj on May 6, while five were killed in Chattogram and one in Cumilla on the same day.

Six people have already been arrested in the case and are now in jail. They are former state minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku, retired major general Ziaul Ahsan, former inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Haque, former deputy inspector general Molla Nazrul Islam, Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee advisory council president Shahriar Kabir, and former deputy inspector general of police Abdul Jalil Mondal.