The recording of testimonies against Salman F Rahman, adviser to the ousted autocratic Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and former Law Minister Anisul Huq begins today in a case involving crimes against humanity. These charges include inciting the killing of students and the general public by imposing a curfew during the mass uprising of July and August 2024. The testimony is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 22, before the judicial panel of the International Crimes Tribunal-1.

The trial officially commenced earlier on February 10 with the presentation of opening statements, during which the prosecution revealed that Anisul Huq and Salman F Rahman had phone conversations during the peak of the July-August mass uprising. The prosecution further stated in their opening remarks that the duo masterminded a blueprint to brutally suppress the July movement by enforcing curfews and implicating the protesting students and citizens in false cases. A total of 28 witnesses are slated to testify in this case.

In addition to this trial, the same tribunal is scheduled to hold a hearing regarding the alleged killing of nine youths who were falsely framed as militants at the ‘Jahaj Bari’ in Kallyanpur. Meanwhile, at Tribunal-2, the prosecution will cross-examine a witness concerning Hasanul Haq Inu in another case of crimes against humanity, which involves the murder of six individuals in Kushtia. Salman, Anisul, and Inu have already been produced before the tribunals. Notably, Salman F Rahman and Anisul Huq were arrested on August 13, 2024, and have remained in prison ever since.