The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Thursday ordered former army officer Ziaul Ahsan to be shown arrested in a crimes against humanity case over the disappearance of current Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed during the Awami League government.
The tribunal fixed 27 October as the deadline for submitting the investigation report in the case.
The prosecution was represented by prosecutors Gazi MH Tamim and Shaikh Mahdi during the hearing.
Earlier on 6 August, the prosecution filed an application seeking to show Ziaul Ahsan arrested and produce him before the tribunal. Following a hearing on 10 August, the tribunal granted the application and ordered his production, leading to his appearance before the court on Thursday.
Salahuddin Ahmed filed a formal complaint with the Chief Prosecutor’s Office on 3 June 2025 over his disappearance. The complaint named seven individuals, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The other accused are former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed, former IGP AKM Shahidul Hoque, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan and former Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit chief Monirul Islam.
According to the case statement, Salahuddin Ahmed was allegedly abducted from a residence in Uttara, Dhaka, on the night of 10 March 2015.
He was later found by local police in Shillong, Meghalaya, India, on 11 May of the same year. He was detained and prosecuted under India’s Foreigners Act for entering the country without valid travel documents.
After a prolonged legal battle, a Shillong court acquitted him in 2018, and the acquittal was upheld by an appellate court in 2023.
Following the mass uprising on 5 August 2024, Salahuddin Ahmed returned to Bangladesh on 11 August 2024.
