A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced former Dhaka Metropolitan Police chief Habibur Rahman and two senior police officers to death for crimes against humanity. They were convicted over the killing of six protesters during the July 2024 mass uprising in Dhaka. The protests led to the fall of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The International Crimes Tribunal-1 handed the death penalty to Habibur Rahman, former joint commissioner Sudip Kumar Chakrabort, and former additional deputy commissioner Shah Alam Mohammad Akhtarul Islam. All three were tried in absentia. Their current locations are unknown, said the Dhaka Tribune. Five other ex-police officials received jail sentences ranging from three to six years. These include Mohammad Imrul (6 years), Md Arshad Hossain (4 years), and constables Md Sujan Mia, Md Imaz Hossain Emon, and Md Nasirul Islam (3 years each). Arshad, Sujan, Imaz, and Nasirul are in custody. The charges relate to a police shooting that killed six protesters on August 5, 2024, in Dhaka's Chankharpul area. This was the same day Sheikh Hasina fled to India as protesters stormed her residence. The three-judge bench of ICT-1 found that police opened fire with lethal weapons on orders from Habibur Rahman. Tribunal chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder stated, "The police forces… opened fire with lethal weapons… causing death to the aforesaid six persons." Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam expressed satisfaction with the death sentences but said he was disappointed by the lighter prison terms given to others and plans to appeal for tougher punishment. Families of the victims were unhappy. Sanjida Khan, mother of one protester killed, said, "We can never be satisfied with this verdict. We did not get Insaaf (justice)." Another victim's uncle, Shahid Ahmed, called the lighter sentences a threat, fearing the released officers may intimidate them. This is the second verdict by the tribunal on crimes during the July uprising. In November, the court sentenced Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in absentia for other crimes. The police firing probe involved 26 witnesses over 23 days. The court concluded the senior officials gave direct orders for the deadly shooting, warranting the death penalty.