Steven Powles KC of the London-based Doughty Street Chambers has filed an Article 15 Communication with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on behalf of the Awami League, requesting that the Prosecutor initiate an investigation into retaliatory violence, amounting to crimes within the Courtโs jurisdiction, committed against Awami League officials and others perceived to be associated with Sheikh Hasinaโs former government, in the aftermath of protests in Bangladesh from July 2024 onwards.
Bangladesh ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC on March 23, 2010, and the Statute entered into force for Bangladesh on June 1, 2010.
The Communication states that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the alleged crimes set out amount to the crimes against humanity of murder, imprisonment and persecution, warranting the initiation of an investigation by the Prosecutor. These offences have no realistic prospect of being genuinely investigated or prosecuted in Bangladesh, and impunity for them would otherwise result.
The Communication highlights allegations of the killing of 400 Awami League leaders and activists since July 2024, many through beatings and lynchings perpetrated by violent mobs. The Communication is supported by witness testimony (accompanied by video evidence), which details brutal killings.
The preliminary list of deceased party workers and supporters consists of 528 names, according to the latest report of the Awami League.
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The Communication further details a pattern where persons associated with the Awami League, or perceived to be associated with it, have been arrested on unsubstantiated grounds and imprisoned without bail or charge. Politicians, judges, lawyers, journalists, as well as people only tenuously affiliated with the Awami League, such as actors and singers, have been the subject of arrest.
The Communication also outlines that 25 Awami League figures have died in custody following July 2024. The bodies of some who were reported to have died of heart attacks showed โtell-tale signs of tortureโ.
Powels explains how, in February 2025, the Interim Administration, an unelected caretaker Government, launched Operation โDevil Huntโ, with the stated aim of combating โAwami fascismโ. It is being conducted as a joint initiative by the police and the army; it has been reported that 18,000 people were arrested over the course of 12 days.
The Communication details ways in which efforts to address abuses against those associated with the Awami League within Bangladesh have failed. It also notes that, on October 14, 2024, the Interim Administration issued an Immunity Order. At the time, an Interior Ministry spokesperson is reported to have said: โStudents and citizens who put forth all efforts to make this uprising successful will not face prosecution, arrest, or harassment for their acts between July 15 and August 8 [2024].โ
The Communication sets out how the provision of one-sided immunities of this nature not only leads to impunity but is also an indication of implicit State support for the perpetrators of those attacks. While there is no prospect of investigation and prosecution in Bangladesh, the best chance for justice is for the ICC Prosecutor to open an investigation.
The Communication provides that the investigation of the crimes is likely to identify the individual criminal responsibility of named suspects. Retaliatory crimes in situations of political transition are an acute contemporary concern. The Communication makes the case that such offences are squarely within the jurisdiction of the ICC, and their suppression is in the interests of justice.
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