A symbolic execution of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was staged on Tuesday (5 July) at 10:36 AM in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka, organized by two groups—Jagroto July and July Oikya.

Organizers claimed the act was carried out to hold Hasina accountable in the “People’s Court” for her alleged role in the BDR mutiny, the Shapla Chattar massacre, and the July 24 killings. The groups called her the “main orchestrator” of these events.

Present at the symbolic event were former military officer Lt. Col. Hasinur Rahman, Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman bin Hadi, former student leader A.B. Zubayer, journalist Israfill Farazi, and Jagroto July’s senior vice-president Shamim Hamid, among others.

The symbolic verdict was read out by Advocate Tanzina Ferdous, legal secretary of Jagroto July. The “accused’s” pressure and heartbeat were checked by Raihan Madrazi. Alif Zawfi acted as the executioner, Mustafa Hossain recited the Islamic declaration of faith, and the entire staging was directed by Aziz Saifullah. The event was presided over by poet Munshi Borhan Mahmud, founder and spokesperson of Jagroto July.

Speakers at the event emphasized that while the execution was symbolic, their demand for real legal consequences should not remain symbolic. They called for the trial and sentencing of Sheikh Hasina and others accused of mass killings to be completed within a year, before the second anniversary of the July uprising.

Jamal Hossain, a former leader of the fourth-class employees’ association at Mohakhali’s National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH), has died after being shot by unknown assailants. He passed away in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital shortly after midnight on Monday (August 4).

Jamal, 40, was a current staff member of the hospital and had previously served as the general secretary of the fourth-class employees’ office club. He was a resident of the hospital’s staff quarters. His family hails from Sonaiamuri in Noakhali district.

The shooting occurred on Friday night (August 1) around 8:15 PM near the office club inside the hospital compound. According to Jamal’s elder brother Md. Salauddin Sajal, two masked assailants fired a gunshot at Jamal from a distance. The bullet entered the back of his head and exited near his eye. He was critically injured and immediately admitted to the ICU at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Family members allege that Jamal was actively campaigning to contest again for the position of general secretary in the upcoming employees’ union election. His brother Jasim Uddin stated that Jamal had received threats from some individuals warning him not to run for the post.

Police have confirmed that a case has been filed with Banani Police Station and an investigation is currently underway. Inspector Md. Faruk, in charge of the Dhaka Medical College Police Camp, provided the confirmation.

Police have recovered the body of former Bangladesh Army Chief Lieutenant General (Retd.) Harun-ur-Rashid from a room at the Chattogram Club. The body was found around 11:00 a.m. on Monday in room 308 of the club, located near Kazir Dewri intersection in Chattogram city.

Mohammad Alamgir Hossain, Deputy Commissioner (South) of Chattogram Metropolitan Police, said Harun-ur-Rashid had checked into the club around 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. When he did not respond in the morning, club authorities alerted police, who broke open the door and found him dead. The body was sent to Chattogram Medical College Hospital morgue.

Police initially suspect a heart attack as the cause of death, but the exact reason will be confirmed after a post-mortem examination.

Commissioned into the Infantry Corps on 6 September 1970, Harun-ur-Rashid’s first posting after the Liberation War was with the 4th East Bengal Regiment in Cumilla. He later served as Force Commander in a UN peacekeeping mission in Georgia. Known for his academic orientation, he taught at the Army Staff College and the School of Infantry and Tactics.

Appointed Chief of Army Staff on 24 December 2000, he led the army during the abduction of foreign surveyors in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. After retirement, he became Vice-Chairman of the Sector Commanders Forum and later joined Destiny Group as its President. He was arrested in a financial fraud case involving Destiny but was released on bail due to ill health and age.

Harun-ur-Rashid was also the founding president of the Army Golf Club and, in 2015, publicly described Pakistan as a threat to Bangladesh’s national security.

His death has drawn condolences from the Bangladesh Army, the Sector Commanders Forum, the freedom fighter community, and others. Destiny Group Managing Director Rafiqul Amin said, “We are deeply saddened.”