Staff Reporter :
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) yesterday issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her former security and defence adviser Major General (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, and 28 others in two separate cases over enforced disappearances, abductions, and torture allegedly committed during the Awami League’s rule.
Formal charges were submitted to the tribunal earlier in the day, accusing the former premier and several senior officials of crimes against humanity in connection with secret detentions carried out by the Rapid Action Battalion’s Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) cell and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI)-run Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC). A three-member bench of the tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumder, took cognisance of the charges and ordered the arrest of all 30 accused, including five former directors general of the DGFI.
According to prosecution sources, Sheikh Hasina has been named the prime accused in both cases, which detail allegations of abduction, unlawful detention, and torture of opposition activists, writers, journalists, and other dissidents. The incidents allegedly took place in clandestine detention centres operated under government supervision between 2019 and 2024.
Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told reporters that two separate charge sheets had been submitted — one naming Hasina, Tarique Siddique, and 17 others in the TFI case, and another implicating Hasina, Siddique, and 13 others in crimes linked to the JIC.
“The prosecution has presented extensive evidence showing how individuals were abducted, held incommunicado, and subjected to inhumane treatment under direct orders from senior government and security officials,” Tajul Islam said after the tribunal’s session.
Ex-DGFI and RAB chiefs among the accused
In the case concerning enforced disappearances at the Rapid Action Battalion’s TFI cell, 17 individuals — including several high-ranking law enforcement and intelligence officers — face five counts of crimes against humanity.
Those charged are: Sheikh Hasina, Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, former RAB director generals M Khurshid Hossain and Barrister Harun ur Rashid, Colonel Anwar Latif Khan, Brigadier General Jahangir Alam, Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, RAB officer KM Azad, Brigadier General Kamrul Hasan, Mahbub Alam, Abdullah Al Momen, Sarwar Bin Kashem, Khairul Islam, Moshiur Rahman Jewel, and Saiful Islam Suman.
In the second case, which concerns alleged abductions and disappearances in the DGFI-run Joint Interrogation Cell, 13 individuals — including five former DGFI chiefs — have been accused. They are: Sheikh Hasina, Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former DGFI director generals Lt Gen (retd) Mohammad Akbar Hossain, Maj Gen (retd) Saiful Abedin, Lt Gen (retd) Md Saiful Alam, Lt Gen Tabrez Shams Chowdhury, Maj Gen (retd) Hamidul Haque, Maj Gen Towhidul Islam, Maj Gen Sarwar Hossain, Maj Gen Kabir Ahmed, Brig Gen Mahbubur Rahman Siddique, Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Majhar Siddique, and Lt Col (retd) Makhsurul Haque.
Tajul Islam confirmed that four of the accused are still serving in the armed forces but are barred from holding any official post under the amended International Crimes Tribunal Act of 2025.
Tarique Ahmed Siddique, who served for years as Hasina’s security and defence adviser, has reportedly been living abroad since the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024. Media reports suggest he sought citizenship in Malta but was denied; however, he has obtained long-term residency in Malaysia under the “Malaysia My Second Home” programme and also holds permanent residency in Dubai, where he has significant business investments.
Hasina, meanwhile, fled to India with her sister Sheikh Rehana on August 5 last year amid a student-led mass uprising that toppled her government. She has remained in India since then.
Final arguments in Hasina’s other case set for October 12
In a separate development, the same tribunal has fixed Sunday, October 12, for hearing final arguments in another case against Sheikh Hasina and two others over alleged crimes against humanity committed during the July–August 2024 uprising.
The tribunal set the date after the defence concluded cross-examination of the last prosecution witness, investigation officer Md Alamgir. Advocate Amir Hossain, the state-appointed counsel for absconding accused Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, conducted the cross-examination.
The third accused, former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, has already pleaded guilty and turned approver.
The case is based on five counts of crimes against humanity and mass killings allegedly ordered or facilitated by the former prime minister and her top officials during the final weeks of her rule.
Earlier, on June 17, ICT-1 published notices directing Hasina and Kamal to surrender by June 24 or face trial in absentia. The tribunal subsequently framed charges on July 10, allowing the prosecution to proceed.
With the cross-examinations complete, the tribunal is now preparing to hear closing arguments before delivering its verdict — a decision that could have far-reaching implications for Bangladesh’s political and judicial landscape.
Meanwhile, Captives who became victims of enforced disappearance were referred to by their captors using the code name “Monalisa”, Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Muhammad Tajul Islam said yesterday.
Enforced disappearances and killings were common under the 15-year rule of the Awami League, and no one in Bangladesh wants members of the former ruling party to return, he told reporters at the tribunal premises on Wednesday.
The tribunal has filed formal charges in two separate cases of crimes against humanity, involving 30 people, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Arrest warrants were issued for the accused.
