Frame charges against Hasina and 12 others

The prosecution yesterday urged the International Crimes Tribunal-1 to frame charges against 13 accused, including deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, over their alleged involvement in a series of enforced disappearances carried out between 2015 and last year.

The accused also include Hasina's former defence and security adviser Maj Gen (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique and 11 army officers who served at the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence during the period.

Five charges have been brought against them for allegedly detaining 26 victims in the DGFI's secret facility "Aynaghar", torturing them, and segregating victims based on the duration of confinement and the roles of DGFI officials.

Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam told the tribunal that 26 individuals were abducted from their homes and workplaces, blindfolded, and taken to Aynaghar, where they were kept in dark, windowless, suffocating cells without proper food, clothing, sanitation or lighting.

Many were detained for months or years, he said. Their eyes and hands remained tied during interrogations in which they were subjected to severe physical and psychological torture.

"These crimes were structural, widespread, systematic and target-based," Tajul said, adding that they constitute crimes against humanity under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973.

After the prosecution's submissions, the three-member tribunal led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder fixed tomorrow to hear discharge petitions filed by three state-appointed defence counsel for 10 absconding accused and by the lawyer representing three officers in custody.

Three accused -- Maj Gen Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossen, Brig Gen Md Mahbub Rahman Siddique, and Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Majahar Siddique -- appeared in the dock. The remaining ten are on the run.

Earlier in the morning, the three officers were brought to the tribunal in a green air-conditioned prison bus amid tight security. Personnel of the Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh, Rapid Action Battalion and Armed Police Battalion were deployed around the premises.

In the cases, Hasina, Tarique, five former DGFI chiefs, five former directors of its Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Bureau, and another former DGFI official stand accused over enforced disappearances and torture at the DGFI's Joint Interrogation Cell.

The prosecution alleges that the crimes centred on the DGFI-run joint interrogation cell, where 26 victims were held from October 22, 2015 to August 6, 2024.

Hasina, as executive head of government, allegedly used the DGFI to consolidate power and suppress political opposition, acting through Tarique and senior DGFI officials. Field-level operatives reportedly abducted victims based on recommendations from local Awami League leaders.

DGFI and CTIB directors who served during this period allegedly maintained custody of detainees, making them liable under superior command responsibility and joint criminal enterprise.

Tajul singled out Lt Col (retd) Mokhsurul Haque, saying he directly identified and abducted victims under Tarique's supervision, continued these activities even after retirement, and operated as a "freelancer".

Advocate Azizur Rahman Dulu, representing three accused officials in custody, told the tribunal he submitted two petitions stating that under the Army Act 1952, a Court of Inquiry had cleared his clients over detention of a victim. The application was kept on record.

The tribunal also allowed the Investigation Agency three more months to submit probe reports in several cases.