ICT moves to frame charges against Hasina, 16 others
Staff Reporter :
The prosecution at International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) has requested that charges be formally framed against 17 individuals, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ten army officers, in a case concerning enforced disappearances and torture at the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) Cell during the previous Awami League government.
Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam made the plea during a hearing held today (3 December). Counsel for the ten army officers currently in custody requested their discharge, but after hearing both sides, the tribunal set 14 December to deliver its order.
The court also rejected a defence plea seeking exemption from personal appearance for the ten officers in future hearings.
The officers named in the case include Brigadier General Md Jahangir Alam, former RAB additional director general; Brigadier General Tofayel Mustafa Sarwar; Brigadier General Md Kamrul Hasan; Brigadier General Md Mahabub Alam; Colonel KM Azad; Colonel Abdullah Al Momen; Colonel Anwar Latif Khan (now on PRL); Colonel Md Moshiur Rahman, former chief of RAB’s intelligence wing; Lieutenant Colonel Saiful Islam Suman; and Lieutenant Colonel Md Sarwar Bin Kashem.
Several other high-profile figures are listed as fugitives, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina; her former defence adviser Major General (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique; former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal; former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed; former RAB director general M Khurshid Hossain; and former RAB director general Barrister Harun-ur-Rashid. They are being tried in absentia.
Earlier today, ICT-1 appointed Advocate Amir Hossain as state defence counsel for Sheikh Hasina in two cases related to alleged enforced disappearances and torture at the TFI Cell and the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC). On 8 October, the tribunal had taken cognisance of charges against 30 accused, including Sheikh Hasina, across the two cases. In the TFI Cell case, five charges were brought against 17 accused.
‘Trial Not Against Patriotic Army Officials’
Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam stressed that the case, filed over enforced disappearances and acts classified as crimes against humanity, is not a trial targeting patriotic army officials.
Speaking at a press briefing after the hearing, he said a defence lawyer had requested that the accused RAB officers appear virtually, but the tribunal rejected the plea.
“Despite this, defence lawyers are trying to portray the case as a conflict between the tribunal and the army. We observed such attempts during today’s hearing,” he noted.
Tajul clarified, “The court has made it clear that this trial is not directed at the armed forces. The accused committed these grave offences outside the military chain of command, during their tenure in RAB. These acts constitute crimes against humanity. Therefore, the court has rejected any request for special privileges for the accused.”