Tajul: Palak admits internet shutdown happened on Hasina's orders

Former ICT state minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak has given a confessional statement saying the nationwide internet shutdown during the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement on the orders of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, according to International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Tajul Islam said Palak gave his confessional statement on Wednesday during interrogation by the tribunal's investigation agency.

"In his statement, he admitted that the internet was not shut down due to a fire in a building but rather on the orders of Sheikh Hasina."

On October 17, the International Crimes Tribunal issued arrest warrants for Sheikh Hasina and 45 others, including her government's former ministers and state ministers, on charges of committing "mass killings and crimes against humanity" to suppress the student-people's movement.

Subsequently, on October 27, a directive was issued to arrest and present a total of 14 individuals—including 10 former ministers of Hasina's Awami League government, two advisers, a retired judge, and a former secretary—before the International Crimes Tribunal on November 18.

Accordingly, on November 18, 13 accused individuals, including nine former ministers, were presented before the tribunal. Simultaneously, the International Crimes Tribunal's investigation agency began interrogating them in phases.