Bangladesh Journalists Face ICT Trials

Bangladesh revived the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in 2024 after the July uprising that killed an estimated 1,400 people and saw Sheikh Hasina ousted on August 5, 2024. The tribunal, created in 2010 under the 1973 ICT act, was originally meant to prosecute 1971 Liberation War atrocities. Critics, especially in 2011-2012, argued that it was used by Hasina to target opposition figures, lacking due process. The interim government later amended the ordinance to align with the Rome Statute, but practical application remains contested.

Journalists Arrested and Charges

Four journalists - Farzana Rupa, her husband Shakil Ahmed, Mozammel Babu, and Shyamal Dutta - and writer Shahriar Kabir have been imprisoned since 2024. Rupa and Shakil were first arrested at Dhaka airport on August 21, 2024, over a garment worker murder case involving Fazlul. Rupa faces nine murder cases; Shakil faces six. Babu, Dutta, and Kabir were arrested in September 2024 on similar charges.

In August 2026, separate ICT cases were opened: one for coverage of Ekattor TV’s 2013 Shapla Chattar crackdown, implicating Rupa, Babu, and Kabir; another for the July uprising, naming Rupa, Babu, and Dutta. At the August 25 hearing, all four were arrested.

Legal Proceedings and Bail

The journalists face two tracks: ordinary criminal courts and the ICT. Ordinary courts allow bail; the ICT does not. On May 11, 2026, the Dhaka High Court granted interim bail to Rupa in six cases and to Shakil in five, but the Appellate Division later suspended those bail orders.

Family members have filed numerous bail applications citing lack of evidence, absence of a prima facie case, and the advanced age or ill health of defendants - Kabir is 75; Babu has cancer. Human rights groups condemned the murder charges and warned that the tribunal might now target figures linked to the former governing order.

Family Impact

Rupa and Shakil’s daughter, Monphool, was 17 when her parents were arrested. She has spent two years advocating for their release, sacrificing her education. Monphool described living in “constant fear” and losing ordinary family moments. She said, “Waiting, every single day, has changed me.”

Procedural Concerns

The ICT’s legal framework lacks a mandatory requirement to prove that a crime is part of a widespread or systematic attack, a threshold demanded by Article 7 of the Rome Statute. The 2013 Supreme Court judgment in Abdul Quader Molla v. Government of Bangladesh declined to incorporate this standard. Consequently, crimes against humanity can be tried under domestic standards that do not align with international law.

Defendants’ defense lawyers report receiving no written corroboration of allegations even after arrest, with months passing before a charge sheet is issued. Interlocutory orders on arrest, detention, or bail cannot be appealed, and the Constitution suspends fundamental protections for those charged under the Act.

Human rights lawyer Toby Cadman, former advisor to the ICT’s Chief Prosecutor, warned that “charges should be brought only where there is a strong evidential basis.” He cited Rwanda’s media jurisprudence, noting that liability attaches only when journalists broadcast identifying information that leads to killings.

The BNP’s February 2026 election manifesto pledged to review the Digital Security Act, prevent attacks on media outlets, withdraw politically motivated cases, and ensure justice for tortured and murdered journalists. Yet no relief has come for the five detained journalists.

The ICT’s use of crimes against humanity charges against a documentary producer and a reporter raises questions about whether the tribunal has become a tool for ordinary political disputes rather than a mechanism for transitional justice.

The case remains unresolved, with the next ICT hearing scheduled for September 2026. The families await a decision that could set a precedent for press freedom in Bangladesh.