PM Tarique Rahman also tortured at JIC: Chief Prosecutor

Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Aminul Islam has claimed that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was detained and tortured at the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC), a facility at the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) headquarters, during the 1/11 political crisis.

He made the allegation on Saturday (August 8) after visiting the JIC in Dhaka with a delegation from the International Crimes Tribunal.

“Testimonies given before the tribunal and our investigation have corroborated information about the incident,” Aminul Islam told reporters after the inspection.

Describing the JIC, widely referred to as an “Aynaghor” or secret detention facility, as part of the tribunal’s ongoing investigation, the chief prosecutor said people were allegedly detained there for prolonged periods and subjected to torture and abuse.

He said the facility had been used to hold Brigadier General (retd) Abdullahil Amaan Azmi and others for years. He also alleged that Tarique Rahman was taken to a room at the facility and tortured during the 1/11 period.

Aminul said the prosecution would urge the government to ensure that no facility resembling the TFI or JIC is ever established in Bangladesh again.

“Anyone accused of a crime must be brought under the law and tried,” he said, stressing that no citizen should be subjected to extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance or arbitrary harassment by law enforcement agencies.

The chief prosecutor further alleged that secret detention facilities were used during the Awami League government under ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to detain political opponents and people holding dissenting views.

He said the prosecution had yet to trace many alleged victims of enforced disappearance, while trials over alleged crimes against humanity involving disappearances and torture at TFI and JIC facilities are already under way.

Several officials allegedly linked to the incidents have been brought before the tribunal, he said, adding that others found to have been involved would also face trial.

The inspection was led by Justice Mohammad Golam Mortuza Majumdar, chairman of International Crimes Tribunal-1, and included other judges, prosecutors and lawyers. The visit was conducted as part of the tribunal’s examination of locations connected to cases involving alleged enforced disappearances and torture.