Hasanul Haq Inu, president of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSaD), has appealed against his 10-year prison sentence in a crimes against humanity case stemming from the July Uprising, seeking his acquittal and to have the verdict overturned.
The appeal was filed with the relevant branch of the Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon, his lawyer Sifat Mahmud Shuvo told bdnews24.com.
“After consulting Inu’s family, we filed the appeal yesterday afternoon seeking his acquittal,” he said.
On Oct 5, the prosecution of the International Crimes Tribunal appealed against the verdict as well, pleading for Inu’s sentence to be raised from 10 years in prison to the death penalty.
State prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim said at the time that the prosecution had filed the appeal because it considered the 10-year sentence handed down by the tribunal inadequate. The appeal set out 11 grounds for the reconsideration, he said.
He said the prosecution had sought acceptance of the appeal and the maximum punishment for Inu under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act.
Tamim said the prosecution had also sought the maximum punishment for Inu on several charges of which he was acquitted.
“In determining punishment, national and international jurisprudence requires consideration of the gravity and depth of the crimes as well as the ‘scale of the attack’," he said.
“The appeal also raises issues such as how many people were subjected to the killings, how many were killed and injured, and what society expects in cases involving crimes of this nature.”
According to the prosecution, the tribunal’s observations on Inu referred to his conversations with then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, his advice on suppressing the movement, imposing a curfew and arresting protesters.
The prosecution argues that sentencing Inu to 10 years in prison after finding those actions to be true is inconsistent with the tribunal’s own observations.
Case Details
On Jun 30, International Crimes Tribunal-2 convicted Inu on three of eight charges in the crimes against humanity case over the July Uprising and sentenced him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment.
Although he was sentenced to 10 years on each of the three charges, the sentences are to run concurrently, meaning he will serve a total of 10 years in prison. The tribunal also ordered him to pay Tk 100,000 in compensation on each of two charges, totalling Tk 200,000.
A three-member panel of International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, delivered the verdict. Inu was the sole defendant in the case.
He faced eight charges of crimes against humanity, including incitement, conspiracy, violence, persecution and involvement in various decisions and actions aimed at suppressing the July Movement.
He was convicted on the third, sixth and seventh charges and acquitted of the remaining five.
On the third charge, the verdict said the allegation that Inu had called the Kushtia superintendent of police and instructed police to identify protesters from photographs and arrest and torture them had been proven.
He was convicted on the sixth charge of playing a role in suppressing the movement through political decisions and statements, while the seventh charge related to his involvement in the imposition of a curfew on Aug 4 and other decisions taken to suppress the movement.
The other five charges included an allegation of involvement in the killing of six people in Kushtia. He was acquitted of those charges.
The tribunal published the full verdict on Sept 20.
Under Section 21(3) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, an appeal must be filed within 30 days of the verdict. Section 21(4) stipulates that an appeal must be disposed of within 60 days of being filed.
Inu was arrested in Dhaka’s Uttara on Aug 26, 2024. He has been in jail since then.