The chief prosecutor’s office of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has moved to seek an Interpol Red Notice against former army chief and former Border Guard Bangladesh director general (retd) Aziz Ahmed in connection with the Shapla Chattar killings case.
The ICT chief prosecutor’s office sent a letter to Bangladesh Police’s National Central Bureau (NCB) on Monday, requesting necessary steps to issue the Red Notice through Interpol.
Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam confirmed the development to reporters on Tuesday.
“We have information that Aziz Ahmed is currently in the United States. After confirming this, we sent the letter to the NCB on Monday,” he said.
The prosecution has also taken steps to seek an Interpol Red Notice against former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, another accused in the case.
41 accused in case
The case relates to the violence surrounding a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel in May 2013.
The prosecution alleges that the crackdown was part of a planned operation by the then Awami League government to suppress Hefazat-e-Islam and that senior officials of law enforcement agencies played a role.
According to the prosecution, police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and members of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations jointly took part in the operation.
The prosecution alleged that the cases filed after the incident were not properly investigated and that Hefazat-e-Islam has been denied justice for the killings despite repeated efforts.
On 27 July, ICT-2 took cognisance of formal charges against 41 people, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and issued arrest warrants for 31 accused who are currently absconding.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 3 September.
58 deaths identified
The prosecution said its investigation has so far established the identities of 58 people who died in connection with the Shapla Chattar incident and related events in different parts of the country.
Of them, 32 died in Dhaka, 20 in Narayanganj, five in Chattogram and one in Cumilla, according to the prosecution.
The case was initially brought against 21 people. Following further investigation, the prosecution submitted formal charges against 41 accused.
Aziz Ahmed is named in the case as the then BGB director general, a position he held during the Shapla Chattar operation.
The prosecution alleges that senior officials were involved in coordinating the operation and that the killings were carried out as part of a broader state-backed plan.
The allegations remain subject to judicial proceedings.
Aziz Ahmed later served as Bangladesh’s army chief from 2018 to 2021.
Hefazat-e-Islam leader Azizul Haque initially submitted the complaint over the Shapla Chattar killings to the chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal. He filed the complaint on behalf of Hefazat leaders Junayed Al Habib and Maulana Mamunul Haque.
The fugitives named in the case include former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Hasan Mahmud Chowdhury, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Abdul Latif Siddique, Mrinal Kanti Das, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Mofazzel Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Omar Faruk Chowdhury, Salahuddin Mahmud alias SM Zahid, Imran H Sarker, former IGP Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, former IGP Mohammad Javed Patwari, former IGP Benazir Ahmed, former Rab director general Md Mokhlesur Rahman, former BGB director general Aziz Ahmed, Lt Gen Md Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Mohammad Maruf Hasan, Mahbub Hossain, Md Monirul Islam, Md Anwar Hossain, Ashrafuzzaman, SM Mehedi Hasan, Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid, Biplab Kumar Sarker, Syed Nurul Islam, Md Asaduzzaman, SM Shibli Noman and BM Farman Ali.
