The International Crimes Tribunal has rescheduled the hearing of two cases filed against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and several former and incumbent army officials over allegations of enforced disappearances and torture at the TFI and JIC cells during the long tenure of the Awami League government.
The hearings, initially set for November 20, will now be held on November 23.
The order was issued on Sunday by the two-member bench of the International Crimes Tribunal-1, headed by Justice Md Shofiul Alam Mahmud, following a petition from the prosecution.
Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim filed the petition seeking a deferral of the hearing dates, which the tribunal granted.
Earlier, on October 22, thirteen army officers accused in the two enforced disappearance cases were produced before the tribunal.
After the hearing, the court ordered that they be shown arrested and sent to prison, fixing November 20 for the next hearing.
Regarding the change of date, Prosecutor Tamim said that the hearings in both enforced disappearance cases, in which the army officers were produced before the tribunal, were originally scheduled for November 20.
However, upon the prosecution’s request, the tribunal approved the rescheduling and fixed November 23 as the new date.
On October 8, the prosecution formally submitted charges against a total of 30 individuals in two separate cases. After taking the charges into cognisance, Tribunal-1 issued arrest warrants and set October 22 for the hearing.
In one case, 17 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, were accused of detaining and torturing victims inside the secret Task Force Interrogation (TFI) cell of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Other accused in this case include former Defence Adviser to Sheikh Hasina Major General (Retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed, former RAB directors general 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 Sumon.
Of them, ten army officers were produced before the tribunal on October 22.
The second case involves 13 accused over allegations of enforced disappearances committed at the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC), also known as the “Aynaghar.”
This case also names Sheikh Hasina and Tarique Ahmed Siddique as accused. Others include former directors general of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) 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 Siddiqui, Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui, and Lt Col (Retd) Mokhlesurul Haque.
Three of them were produced before the tribunal on the same day.
The 13 army officers currently in custody in connection with the two cases are: former RAB Additional Director General Brig Gen Md Jahangir Alam, Brig Gen Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Brig Gen Md Kamrul Hasan, Brig Gen Md Mahbub Alam, Brig KM Azad, Col Abdullah Al Momen, Col (on retirement leave) Anwar Latif Khan, former RAB Intelligence Wing Director Lt Col Md Moshiur Rahman, Lt Col Saiful Islam Sumon, Lt Col Md Sarwar Bin Kashem, former DGFI Director Maj Gen Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Brig Gen Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, and Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui.
On October 12, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette notification temporarily declaring a building inside the Dhaka Cantonment as a prison, where the accused are now being held as per the tribunal’s order.
