The International Crimes Tribunal-2 is scheduled to hold a hearing today, Thursday, on the charge framing in the Shahid Wasim murder case. The case involves the killing of student leader Shahid Wasim and five others during the July uprising in Chattogram. Former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud, former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, and 20 others are accused. The three-member tribunal panel is chaired by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, with judges Manjurul Bashid, Nur Mohammad Shahriar Karib Shafiul Alam Mahmud, and Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury as members.

Earlier, on May 13, the tribunal appointed state-funded lawyers for 17 absconding defendants and set June 4 for the charge-framing hearing. Among the 22 accused, five are in custody, including former MP ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury and several political activists, who will be produced before the tribunal today. The remaining 17, including former Chattogram mayor A J M Nasir Uddin, remain absconding.

The prosecution has brought three charges against the 22 accused: the murder of six individuals on July 16 and 18, 2024, and the serious injury of over a hundred people.