13 army officers to appear before ICT today; security heightened around tribunal

Thirteen army officers are scheduled to be produced before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) today in connection with two separate cases involving enforced disappearances, killings, and torture inside secret detention facilities during the Awami League regime.

Security has been intensified in and around the tribunal premises ahead of the proceedings. Since Sunday morning, police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have been deployed in increased numbers, while intelligence officers in plainclothes are actively monitoring the area.

A three-member bench of the ICT-1, headed by Chairman Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumdar, is set to hear the cases today.
The hearing was initially scheduled for November 20 but was shifted to Sunday following a petition seeking more time. Earlier, on October 26, a previous panel led by Justice Md. Shafiul Alam Mahmud had fixed the hearing date.

On October 22, the 13 accused officers were brought before the tribunal, which recorded their arrest in the two disappearance-related cases and ordered that they be sent to jail.

This case concerns the alleged torture and illegal confinement of individuals inside the secret Task Force Interrogation (TFI) cell of RAB.

A total of 17 individuals are named, including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her former security adviser Maj. Gen. (Retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former IGP Benazir Ahmed, and former RAB DGs M Khurshid Hossain and Barrister Harun Ar Rashid.

The second case relates to enforced disappearances carried out in the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC), widely known as “Aynaghar”.

This case lists 13 accused, including Sheikh Hasina and Tarique Ahmed Siddique, alongside several former Directors General of the DGFI—Lt. Gen. (Retd) Mohammad Akbar Hossain, Maj. Gen. (Retd) Saiful Abedin, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Md. Saiful Alam, Lt. Gen. Tabrej Shams Chowdhury, and Maj. Gen. (Retd) Hamidul Haque.

The 13 army officers currently in custody who will be produced before the court are: Brig. Gen. Md. Jahangir Alam, former RAB Additional DG, Brig. Gen. Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Brig. Gen. Md. Kamrul Hasan, Brig. Gen. Md. Mahabub Alam, Brig. KM Azad, Col. Abdullah Al Momen, Col. Anwar Latif Khan (on LPR), Lt. Col. Md. Moshiur Rahman, former Director of RAB Intelligence Wing, Lt. Col. Saiful Islam Sumon, Lt. Col. Md. Sarwar Bin Kashem, Maj. Gen. Sheikh Md. Sarwar Hossain, former DGFI Director, Brig. Gen. Md. Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui.