DHAKA, Bangladesh 

A Bangladesh court issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the son of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, on charges linked to shutting down the internet during last year’s uprising, which prosecutors say facilitated mass killings.

The International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka issued the order in absentia against Joy, who lives in the US and served as Hasina’s Information and Communication Technology adviser.

The tribunal order said that at the final stage of the July 2024 uprising, a plan was made to suppress the movement by shutting down the internet across the country and that Joy was directly involved in this plan.

Tribunal chairman Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar issued the warrant against Joy and former junior ICT minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak after accepting a case alleging crimes against humanity tied to shutting down the internet and carrying out mass killings during the uprising.

In a separate case, the tribunal accepted formal charges against former law minister Anisul Huq and former industry and investment adviser Salman F. Rahman, accused of involvement in mass killings carried out under curfew orders during the same period.

All defendants except Joy are currently in jail.

Hasina fled Bangladesh on Aug. 5 after her government was toppled during the uprising. She and her family have remained outside the country since.

According to the UN, about 1,400 people were killed and more than 20,000 injured in the unrest.