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The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) in Dhaka has appointed Advocate Aminul Gani Titto as a state defence lawyer to represent ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader Shakil Akand Bulbul in a contempt-of-court proceeding initiated against them.
It also appointed senior lawyer A Y Masihuzzaman as an amicus curiae to provide expert opinion on the complaint filed against the accused.
A three-member bench of the tribunal headed by its Chairman Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder passed the order on Thursday on a Suo Motu (voluntary) move.
The court also set June 25 in 2025 as the next hearing date of the case.
Earlier, on May 25 this year, the tribunal had ordered the publication of a notice in newspapers summoning Hasina and former Chhatra League leader Shakil to face contempt of court charges.
Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim later informed the tribunal that neither of the accused had appeared within the stipulated seven-day period following the notice's publication.
Consequently, the tribunal appointed an amicus curiae and a defense lawyer in accordance with the International Crimes Tribunal Rules of Procedure.
A complaint was filed against Hasina and Shakil, the former chief of the Gaibandha's Gobindaganj Upazila unit of the Chhatra League, on April 30 this year over a telephonic conversation linked to a July Uprising case.
Admitting the complaint, the ICT ordered the accused to file their response by May 15. After they failed to comply, the tribunal ordered the accused to appear before it on May 25.
As they did not comply with this second directive either, the tribunal instructed its registrar to publish a public notice in two national newspapers.
An audio clip had gone viral on social media with a recording of someone saying, "There are 227 cases against me, so I have got a licence to kill 227 people."
Later, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police carried out a forensic examination of the conversation and identified the speaker as Hasina, leading to a contempt of court case with the tribunal.
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