15 Army officers produced before ICT, sent to jail

Bangla Press Desk: The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has sent fifteen Army officers to jail after they were produced before the court on Wednesday to face charges of crimes against humanity committed during the former Hasina-led autocratic Awami League regime.

The officers, accused in three separate cases involving enforced disappearances and mass killings, were brought to the tribunal amid heavy security and later transferred to a special detention facility inside Dhaka Cantonment.

The three-member ICT-1 bench, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder with Justices Md Shofiul Alam Mahmood and Md Mohitul Haq Enam Chowdhury, passed the order after hearing both the prosecution and defence arguments.

ICT Chief Prosecutor Advocate Muhammad Tajul Islam represented the prosecution, while Barrister Md Sarwar Hossain appeared for the defence.

Advocate Tajul Islam told reporters that the Bangladesh Army had cooperated in arresting and producing the accused before the tribunal.

Barrister Sarwar Hossain, however, maintained that his clients were innocent and had “surrendered out of respect for the law”. He added, “They did not commit any crimes. Everything happened under the orders of Hasina and Kamal, as confirmed by the former IGP who turned approver in a related case. The officers had no control over those incidents.”

The tribunal rejected the defence’s bail plea and ordered that the accused be held in a special detention facility inside the Dhaka Cantonment sub-jail.

The officers were brought to the tribunal premises around 7am in a specialised prison van under heavy escort by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and police. They were seen wearing civilian clothes before being placed in a green prison van belonging to the jail authorities around 10am.

The 15 officers are Brig Gen Md Jahangir Alam, Brig Gen Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Brig Gen Md Kamrul Hasan, Brig Gen Md Mahbub Alam, Brig Gen KM Azad, Col Abdullah Al Momen, Lt Col Md Mashiur Rahman, Lt Col Saiful Islam Sumon, Lt Col Sarwar Bin Kashem, Lt Col Mohammad Redwanul Islam, Maj Md Rafat-bin-Alam, Maj Gen Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Brig Gen Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Majahar Siddiqui, and Col Anwar Latif Khan (now on retirement leave).

The government had earlier designated Building No. 54 of the Military Engineer Services (MES) in the Cantonment as a temporary jail under the Prisoners Act, 1984. A gazette notification to this effect was issued by the Home Ministry on 12 October.

On 8 October, the ICT-1 had issued arrest warrants for 34 individuals in three separate cases — one naming 17, another 13, and the third four accused. Among them, 27 are serving or retired Army officers, including 16 currently in service.

The Army Headquarters later confirmed in a press briefing on 11 October that 15 of those officers, including some on leave prior to retirement, had been taken into military custody, while one had fled.

The tribunal earlier took cognisance of charges in two cases involving the enforced disappearances of opposition figures Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, Humam Quader Chowdhury, Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman, and Michael Chakma.

Among the 30 accused in these cases, 26 are serving and retired Army officers and former security officials, of whom 14 have so far been arrested.

Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former Defence Adviser Maj Gen (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique have also been named as accused in the same cases.

One case concerns enforced disappearances and torture at the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) Cell, jointly operated by the DGFI and RAB inside the RAB Headquarters in Uttara. The other involves similar allegations at the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC), located within the DGFI Headquarters in Dhaka, known for operating secret detention and torture facilities.

The tribunal also took cognisance of a separate crimes against humanity case over the killing of 28 people in Rampura during the 2024 mass uprising. One of the accused, Lt Col Mohammad Redwanul Islam, is implicated in that case.

On Wednesday, the tribunal ordered that public notices be published in newspapers instructing the remaining accused to appear before the court. Hearings in the enforced disappearance cases were adjourned until 20 November, while the Rampura killings case was scheduled for 5 November.

During the Hasina-led regime, numerous opposition figures were allegedly abducted and detained in secret facilities known as “Aynaghor” or “House of Mirrors”. Human rights monitors estimate that around 3,500 enforced disappearances occurred during her 15-and-a-half-year rule.

Former Army officers and victims of enforced disappearances, including Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, Lt Col (retd) Hasinur Rahman, former ambassador M Maroof Zaman, and lawyer Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman, welcomed the officers’ production before a civil court. They expressed hope that “the accused will receive capital punishment”.

Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul lauded the judicial process, saying, “The manner in which the Army officers have been brought before the court, with respect for the rule of law, is highly commendable. The cooperation of the Army chief and his administration is also praiseworthy.”

Meanwhile, demonstrators gathered outside the ICT premises, demanding capital punishment for the accused Army officers. This article was originally published on the Daily Sun.

BP/ZE