The International Crimes Tribunal-1 has fixed 3 and 7 December for hearings on charge framing against 13 army officers in two cases involving allegations of crimes against humanity.
Hearings for charge framing against 10 of the accused officers will be held on 3 December, while proceedings against the remaining three officers are scheduled for 7 December.
Following a hearing on Sunday, the three-member bench, led by ICT Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, set the dates. The other tribunal members are Justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud and retired District and Sessions Judge Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.
The officers, in plain clothes, were brought before the tribunal in a specialised prison van at around 10am.
Police, RAB, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Armed Police Battalion (APBN) personnel provided tight security. They escorted the accused one by one to the tribunal.
The alleged crimes took place at the Rapid Action Battalion’s (RAB) Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) Cell and the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) during the previous Awami League government.
Security was heightened around the premises from early morning, with members of the police, RAB and BGB deployed, while plainclothes intelligence officers were also seen active in the area.
Earlier on 22 October, ICT-1 sent the 13 officers to jail along with two other army officers, Mohammad Redwanul Islam and Rafat Bin Alam, who have been facing separate crimes against humanity charges. The tribunal also ordered notices in English and Bengali newspapers directing fugitive accused in three cases to appear in court.
The tribunal took cognisance of the charges on 8 October against 30 people, including deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, over enforced disappearances and torture.
In one case, the prosecution filed five charges against 13 accused, including Hasina and her former security and defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, over alleged crimes at the JIC.
The other accused include Md Akbar Hossain, Md Saiful Abedin, Md Saiful Alam, Md Tabrez Shams Chowdhury, Hamidul Haque, Mohammad Touhidul Islam, Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Kabir Ahmed, Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui and Mokhchurul Haque.
Another set of five charges targeted 17 people, including Hasina and Siddique, over crimes at the TFI. The remaining accused include former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, M Khurshid Hossain, Barrister Md Harun Ur Rashid, Anwar Latif Khan, Md Jahangir Alam, Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, KM Azad, Md Qamrul Hasan, Md Mahabub Alam, Abdullah Al Momen, Md Sarwar Bin Qashem, Md Khairul Islam, Md Moshiur Rahman Jewel and Saiful Islam Suman.
The accused also include five former director generals of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI): Lt Gen (retd) Md Akbar Hossain, Lt Gen (retd) Md Saiful Alam, Lt Gen (retd) Ahmed Tabrez Shams Chowdhury, Maj Gen (retd) Md Saiful Abedin and Maj Gen (retd) Hamidul Haque.
The tribunal issued arrest warrants against 30 accused, including 23 retired and serving army officers, on 8 October after taking cognisance of the formal charges. Defence lawyers have requested virtual appearances of the accused for the next hearings in the cases.
