Thirteen Army Officials Produced Before ICT Over Enforced Disappearances and Torture Cases

Thirteen officials of the Bangladesh Army were brought before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Dhaka today amidst heightened security. The officials face charges in two separate cases related to enforced disappearances and torture allegedly committed at the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) Cell and the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) during the tenure of the past Awami League government.

The thirteen accused are: Md Jahangir Alam, Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Md Qamrul Hasan, Md Mahabub Alam, KM Azad, Abdullah Al Momen, Md Moshiur Rahman Jewel, Saiful Islam Suman, Md Sarwar Bin Qashem, Anwar Latif Khan, Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, and Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui.

The officers, dressed in plainclothes, arrived at the tribunal in a specialized prison van around 10 am. A large contingent of security forces, including police, RAB, BGB, and APBN, was deployed around the court premises.

On October 22, ICT-1 had previously sent these 13 accused, along with two other army officers (Mohammad Redwanul Islam and Rafat Bin Alam) charged in a separate crimes against humanity case, to jail.

The three-member tribunal, led by Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, has also ordered the publication of notices in English and Bengali newspapers for other fugitive accused in the three cases to appear before the court.

Earlier, on October 8, ICT-1 took cognisance of charges against a total of 30 accused in the two cases related to enforced disappearances and torture.

The overall list of accused includes high-profile political figures such as ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her former security and defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique.

The prosecution brought five charges against 13 people, including Sheikh Hasina and Tarique Ahmed Siddique, over crimes committed at the JIC.

Another five charges were brought against 17 people, including Sheikh Hasina, Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed, over crimes committed at the TFI.