A special court on Wednesday remanded in custody 15 high-ranking army officers on charges of crimes against humanity committed during the 15-year tenure of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 sent them to a recently established sub-jail inside the Dhaka cantonment following their surrender to the court. The tribunal, headed by its Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, passed the order after a short hearing.
For the first time so many serving army officers have surrendered to a civilian court for facing trial on charges of enforced disappearances, torture and killings. They can now be interrogated by the tribunal’s prosecutors and investigators upon court order.
However, two prosecutors confirmed TIMES of Bangladesh that most of the army officers while under the custody of army had already been interrogated several times at the interrogation cell of ICT’s Dhanmondi office. Requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, they said the officers could further be interrogated.
Amnesty International has welcomed the decision by Bangladeshi authorities to bring 15 serving army officers before a court, facing charges related to enforced disappearances and torture allegedly committed during the previous government’s tenure.
In a Facebook post, the rights group underscored the importance of the ongoing judicial proceedings adhering strictly to international human rights standards.
The accused officer are: Brig Gen Md Kamrul Hasan, Brig Gen Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Brig Gen Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddique, Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Majhar Siddique, Brig Gen Md Mahbub Alam, Brig Gen Md Jahangir Alam, Maj Gen Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Col Anwar Latif Khan, Col Abdullah Al Momen, Col AKM Azad, Col Md Sarwar Bin Kashem, Lt Col Md Moshiur Rahman Jewel, Lt Col Saiful Islam Sumon, Lt Col Md Redwanul Islam, and Maj Rafat Bin Alam Mun.
The officers, earlier detained by the army, were brought to the ICT on a specialised air-conditioned prison van around 7:15am amid tight security. From the van, the officers who were in civil dress got down one by one and escorted by police personnel with members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Armed Police Battalion (APBN) positioned in and around the tribunal area.
They were placed inside the prison cell of the tribunal before being produced before the court for hearing.
The tribunal adjourned the hearing of the two cases filed over enforced disappearances and torture till 20 November while set 5 November for the next hearing in the case filed over a killing in the city’s Rampura area during the July Uprising.
The court also ordered publication of notices in newspapers, asking the fugitive accused in the three cases to appear before it and face trial.
During the argument, Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam said Bangladesh Army extended full cooperation in “detaining and producing” the accused army officers before the tribunal.
“Today, those who were produced before the tribunal were arrested and placed on trial with the sincere efforts of law enforcement agencies. The Bangladesh Army, which we regard as the guardians of the country’s sovereignty, has also extended their cooperation to the judicial process of this tribunal,” he told journalists.
During hearing, defence counsel Barrister M Sarwar Hossain claimed that the army officers were innocent.
“They have surrendered out of respect for the law. They want to face justice. They did not commit these crimes. There is one approver—prosecution witness—who said that everything that happened was under the instructions of Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and Sheikh Hasina. The defendants had no control over these events,” he said briefing reporters after the hearing.
“Since their names have come up and charges have been filed against them, they will face this trial and show the public how much crime they have committed or whether they have committed any at all,” he added.
The accused were taken back to a sub-jail inside the cantonment, where they will remain under the supervision of prison authorities.
After the indictment in three cases, the tribunal issued arrest warrants on 8 October for 32 individuals, including the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Among them, 25 are current and former military officers.
Cases and the accused
A total of 28 people has been accused in two cases of enforced disappearances, secret detention, and torture in the 15 years of Hasina’s rule.
Of them, five are civilian while 23 are serving and former army officers. They civilians are Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former IGP Benazir Ahmed, former directors general of Rapid Action Battalion Harun-or-Rashid and Khurshid Hossain.
In both cases, Maj Gen (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former defence and security adviser to Hasina, has been accused.
Most of the army officers accused served Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and Rab.
Five former DGFI chiefs accused are 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 other accused are former Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Bureau (CTIB) directors are Maj Gen Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Maj Gen (retd) Mohammad Towhidul Ul Islam, Maj Gen Kabir Ahmed, Brig Gen Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddique, and Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Mazahar Siddique. Former DGFI official Lt Col (retd) Mokhsurul Haque was also named. CTIB is a unit of DGFI.
Also Col (retd) Anwar Latif Khan, Brig Gen Md Jahangir Alam, Brig Gen Tofail Mostafa Sarwar, Brig Gen Kamrul Hasan, Brig Gen Md Mahbub Alam, Col K M Azad, Col Abdullah Al Momen, Lt Col (retd) Muhammad Khairul Islam, Lt Col Md Moshiur Rahman Jewel, and Lt Col Saiful Islam Sumon, and Lt Col Sarwar Bin Kashem have been accused in the two cases of enforced disappearance and torture.
In the third case, the accused are Border Guard Bangladesh officers — Lt Col Redwanul Islam, Maj Rafat bin Alam Mun –DMP’s former ADCC of Khilgaon Division Md Rashedul Islam, and former officer-in-charge of Rampura Police Station Md Mashiur Rahman for killing 28 people and committing crimes against humanity in Rampura during the July uprising. Both the police officers are absconding.
