Former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun.

































Former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, who has been charged with crimes against humanity during the July uprising alongside deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan but has turned state witness, may face prosecution again if he withholds truth during the trial of the uprising case.

On Thursday, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 accepted Mamun’s request to become an approver and testify against others involved in the case.


According to legal experts, Mamun could be treated as an accused again if he fails to provide a full and truthful disclosure of the events and people involved, whether as principal offenders or abettors.

Mamun pleaded guilty and promised to cooperate with the trial in the case.

The tribunal granted him a conditional pardon and confirmed that he would be called as a witness later.

Senior lawyer and criminal law expert Abdur  Razaque Khan told New Age on Saturday that Mamun remained a conditional state witness.

According to Razzaque, Mamun’s legal status depends entirely on whether he tells the full truth during the trial proceedings.

‘He will not be cleared of the charges until the trial is complete and he has fully cooperated,’ Razzaque said.

Razzaque recalled serving as the public prosecutor in the 1999 murder case of former UCBL director Humayun Zahir, where he successfully turned one of the accused into a state witness.

Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir told New Age that similar conversions occurred in past high-profile cases, including that involving Khulna’s notorious criminal Ershad Shikder’s bodyguard, Nur-e-Alam, who also became a state witness from the accused.

 In the State vs Ershad Shikder case, the High Court Division in 2004 observed that an approver could still be tried if they willfully concealed essential information or gave false testimony, violating the conditions of the pardon.

The High Court noted that unless specific conditions were attached before granting the application, the individual could not be considered legally pardoned for the purpose of testifying as an accomplice.

Even after Nur-e-Alam’s application to become an approver was accepted, he was neither formally discharged of the charges nor did the prosecution withdraw the charges against him. As a result, the trial continued with Nur-e-Alam being treated as an accused.

Mamun’s case marks, for the first time under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, that an accused in a case over crimes against humanity has turned a state witness.

During Thursday’s hearing, crimes against humanity charges were formally framed against absconding accused Sheikh Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan, and Mamun.

The charges were read aloud to Mamun, after which his lawyer, Sayed Bin Amjad, submitted a petition seeking a pardon in exchange for his testimony.

Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam supported the request, saying that Mamun’s testimony could play a crucial role in the trial.

The tribunal agreed and issued a conditional pardon. However, it stressed that any false or misleading statements would void the pardon and restore Mamun’s status as an accused.

To ensure his safety, the tribunal ordered that Mamun be kept in solitary confinement.

He was moved to a separate cell on Thursday night.

Previously, he had been kept with former chief election commissioner Habibul Awal at Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.

Mamun also faces another case as a principal accused in connection with the July uprising, along with several other law enforcers.

In addition, at least 200 other cases have been filed against him across the country related to July uprising crimes.

He remains an accused in those cases, his lawyer confirmed.

The International Crimes Tribunal was formed in 2009 to prosecute those involved in the 1971 Liberation War genocide and crimes against humanity.

In November 2024, the ICT law was amended through an ordinance to allow prosecution of those involved in the July uprising, which left at least 1,500 people dead and over 25,000 injured.



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