Hasina, Joy Among 29 Charged in Jisan Murder Case

Police have submitted a charge sheet against 29 people, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, in the murder case of Abdus Rahman Jisan during the July Uprising in Dhaka’s Matuail area.

Jatrabari Police submitted the charge sheet to the court on July 8 after completing its investigation. The accused include former ministers, Awami League leaders and senior police officials.

According to the charge sheet, Jisan was shot dead on July 20, 2024, while distributing drinking water among protesters on Titas Gas Road in Matuail.

Police said armed activists of the Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League opened fire in the area, and a bullet allegedly fired from a cut rifle struck Jisan near his right eye.

He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

The investigation also linked Jisan’s death to the subsequent suicide of his wife, Rabeya Misti, who died nine days later on July 29, according to the charge sheet.

It alleged that Jisan’s family faced obstruction and threats when they attempted to take his body to their home in Cumilla for burial.

The charge sheet alleges that the then government and senior Awami League leaders made decisions to suppress the July protests and that those decisions were implemented through instructions to security forces and party activists.

A Dhaka court has scheduled October 6 for the next hearing.

Jisan’s father, Babul Mia, filed the case on August 25, 2024, initially naming 27 people as accused. Following the investigation, police added former MPs Kazi Monirul Islam Monu and Mashiur Rahman Sajal, bringing the total number of accused to 29.

The investigating officer has recommended dropping charges against six people, including Asian Television chairman Harunur Rashid, due to a lack of evidence.