Ten military officers have been brought before the International Crimes Tribunal in a case involving allegations of abduction and torture at the TFI Cell. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 16 others have been listed as accused.
They were transported from the special prison in Dhaka Cantonment at 10:23 am on Wednesday in an air-conditioned prison van.
Those presented are— Brigadier General Md Jahangir Alam, Brigadier General Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Brigadier General Md Kamrul Hasan, Brigadier General Md Mahabub Alam, Colonel K M Azad, Colonel Abdullah Al Momen, Colonel Anwar Latif Khan (on post-retirement leave), Colonel Md Mashiur Rahman (former director, RAB Intelligence Branch), Lieutenant Colonel Saiful Islam Sumon and Lieutenant Colonel Md Sarwar Bin Kashem.
Fugitives named in the case include— former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Defence Adviser Major General (Retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddiq, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former IGP Dr Benazir Ahmed, former RAB DG M Khurshid Hossain and Barrister Harun-ur-Rashid.
Charge framing proceedings before Tribunal-1, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumder, will begin after 11 am. The prosecution will address the tribunal first, followed by the defence, while state-appointed lawyers will represent the fugitives.
Strict security has been enforced, with police, RAB, army, BGB and intelligence personnel patrolling the High Court and tribunal areas.
On 23 November, the date for today’s hearing had been set, and the ten officers appeared in person. Their lawyers had sought virtual appearance, which will be heard again today. The tribunal had commented that the law applies equally to all, noting that former Chief Justices and Ministers also appeared physically when required.
Senior lawyer Z I Khan Panna applied to represent fugitive accused Sheikh Hasina and was appointed state defence, though he indicated verbally that he might not contest the case.
On 22 October, the ten officers were produced from army custody, shown arrested, and sent to jail. Fugitive accused were asked through notices in two national newspapers to appear within seven days, but none did, leading to the appointment of state defence lawyers. Earlier, on 8 October, the tribunal took cognisance of the charges and issued arrest warrants.
TSN