The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 has sent Wing Commander Saifur Rahman Saif of Bangladesh Air Force to jail after showing him arrested in a case concerning alleged crimes against humanity over the disappearance of BNP leader Ilias Ali.
The tribunal also fixed 25 October for submission of the investigation report in the case.
A three-member bench of the tribunal passed the order after hearing a prosecution petition on Sunday.
The tribunal had issued an arrest warrant for Saifur Rahman on 9 August in connection with the case.
He was produced before the tribunal on Sunday morning. Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam appeared for the prosecution, while lawyer Tabarak Hossain represented the accused.
The defence sought bail, but the prosecution opposed the plea and sought his detention in jail.
Saifur Rahman’s name came up during the testimony of Army Warrant Officer Imrul Kayes in a crimes against humanity case against former army officer Ziaul Ahsan involving more than 100 alleged incidents of enforced disappearance and killings.
On 21 June, Imrul reportedly named Saifur in connection with the alleged disappearance and killing of Ilias Ali.
Saifur was detained from his residence on the night of 26 July by the Provost Branch of the military police and was later kept in a special cell, according to prosecution sources.
The tribunal subsequently issued the arrest warrant against him on 9 August.
Prosecution sources said the investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity related to Ilias Ali’s disappearance in April 2012 is ongoing.
Investigators have found Saifur’s alleged direct involvement in the incident, the sources claimed.
The roles of others, including retired Lieutenant General Sheikh Mamun Khaled, are also being investigated, they said.
Ilias Ali, then BNP organising secretary, and his driver were allegedly picked up from the capital’s Banani area late on 17 April, 2012. They have not been traced since.
BNP leaders have long alleged that Ilias was disappeared on the orders of people linked to the then Awami League government.
The prosecution has alleged that RAB’s intelligence wing was directly involved in the incident.
At the time, Saifur Rahman, then a squadron leader in the Air Force, was serving with RAB’s intelligence wing, according to the prosecution.
