The International Crimes Tribunal has ordered that former RAB officer Tareq Sayeed Mohammad, who is detained in a crimes against humanity case, be provided medical treatment in accordance with prison rules following allegations that he was assaulted by prison guards at Munshiganj District Jail.
International Crimes Tribunal-2 issued the order on Thursday. However, the defence withdrew a petition seeking a judicial inquiry into the incident after acknowledging that it had not been filed through the proper procedure.
Lawyer Mahmudul Hossain Rubel appeared for Tareq Sayeed, while Prosecutor Jahirul Amin represented the prosecution.
Tareq Sayeed’s lawyer alleged that prison guards beat him with sticks late on 16 September at Munshiganj Jail.
During the hearing, Mahmudul Hossain Rubel said several prison guards had launched a sudden attack on Tareq Sayeed, causing him a head injury. He said Tareq Sayeed had also been severely assaulted on different parts of his body.
The defence had learned that the attack was carried out on the instructions of the jail superintendent, Mahmudul Hossain Rubel said.
They sought an investigation into the incident as well as proper medical treatment for Tareq Sayeed at Bangladesh Medical University or Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Prosecutor Jahirul Amin told the tribunal that Tareq Sayeed is a death-row convict in the Narayanganj seven-murder case and is supposed to be kept in a condemned cell.
He said the prosecution generally does not object to medical treatment when an accused or defendant in a crimes against humanity case falls ill, considering the matter on humanitarian grounds.
However, he said Tareq Sayeed did not appear to be ill.
The tribunal then asked the defence lawyer why the petition had not mentioned that Tareq Sayeed is a death-row convict or that he is supposed to be kept in a condemned cell.
In response, Mahmudul Hossain Rubel said Tareq Sayeed had been kept in a general ward of the prison for a long time.
He said that after the alleged assault at Munshiganj Jail, Tareq Sayeed was transferred to Kishoreganj District Jail without being given any medical certificate, although such a certificate is normally issued when a prisoner is transferred from one jail to another.
After hearing both sides, the tribunal ordered that Tareq Sayeed be provided treatment in accordance with prison rules.
Petition for judicial inquiry
On 27 September, Tareq Sayeed filed a petition with the International Crimes Tribunal seeking an order for a fair and independent judicial inquiry into allegations that he had been assaulted and physically tortured at Munshiganj District Jail.
The petition said he was attacked and physically tortured while in custody late on 16 September and that a judicial inquiry was necessary.
However, during Thursday’s hearing, the defence withdrew the application after stating that the petition for a judicial inquiry had not been filed through the proper procedure.
As a result, although the tribunal’s order included directions regarding medical treatment, it did not issue any order for a judicial inquiry.
Tareq Sayeed was reportedly transferred from Munshiganj District Jail to Kishoreganj District Jail in the interests of security and because of the situation that arose inside the jail following the alleged assault.
Arrested in enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killing case
International Crimes Tribunal-2 formally showed Tareq Sayeed arrested on 10 August in a crimes against humanity case involving allegations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the Awami League government.
The order was issued after a hearing on a prosecution petition.
According to the prosecution, BNP leaders Abdul Mannan, Jahirul Islam Sumon and Asaduzzaman Babul were allegedly extrajudicially killed in Lakshmipur on 15 December 2013.
BNP activist Bellal Hossain was also allegedly subjected to enforced disappearance in the same incident.
In addition, BNP leaders Saiful Islam Hiru and Humayun Kabir Parvez were allegedly forcibly disappeared from Laksam in Cumilla on 27 November 2013.
The prosecution alleged that Tareq Sayeed was the commanding officer of RAB-11 at the time of the incidents.
Investigations into the allegations are ongoing.
Death sentence in seven-murder case
On 27 April 2014, seven people, including then Narayanganj City Corporation panel mayor Nazrul Islam and lawyer Chandan Sarker, were abducted and later murdered in Narayanganj.
Tareq Sayeed Mohammad was the commanding officer of RAB-11 in Narayanganj at the time.
Investigation and trial records found evidence of Tareq Sayeed’s instructions and involvement in the abductions and killings.
In 2017, a Narayanganj court sentenced Tareq Sayeed and several other accused to death in the case.
The High Court later upheld his death sentence.
The case is currently pending before the Appellate Division.
