During the July Movement, the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC) — a state agency established under the Awami League government — secretly recorded important phone conversations of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Initially created to monitor opposition figures and influential individuals, the agency later placed Hasina’s own phone calls under surveillance.
Chief Prosecutor Advocate Mohammad Tazul Islam revealed the information on Wednesday (October 15) while presenting arguments at the International Crimes Tribunal-1. He stated that recordings recovered from NTMC showed Sheikh Hasina giving instructions to law enforcement to use deadly weapons against unarmed students and civilians during the July Movement. These phone conversations reportedly took place with former minister Hasanul Haq Inu, former Dhaka South City Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, and Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor S. M. Masud Kamal.
According to the Chief Prosecutor, NTMC officials secretly recorded these conversations, which were later retrieved by the investigation officer. Since the recordings came directly from a government agency, their authenticity cannot be questioned. A forensic analysis by the CID confirmed that the voices belong to Sheikh Hasina, Inu, Taposh, and Masud Kamal — and that the clips were not AI-generated. International media outlets such as Al Jazeera and the BBC also verified the recordings and produced documentaries about them.
The Chief Prosecutor further stated that helicopters were used to identify and attack protesters during the movement. Based on information provided by the police and RAB, helicopters flew 36 times over Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rangpur, Narayanganj, and Gazipur during that period. The Chief Prosecutor is expected to conclude his arguments on Thursday.