Law Desk
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 has scheduled hearings on December 3 and 7 in two separate cases concerning enforced disappearances and torture allegedly carried out at the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) Cell and the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) during the tenure of the previous Awami League government.
The two-member tribunal, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, issued the order following a request from the prosecution. According to the schedule, the hearing on charge framing for the TFI Cell case will be held on December 3, while the indictment hearing for the JIC-related case is set for December 7.
The tribunal also appointed senior advocate ZI Khan Panna to represent ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in both cases.
During today’s proceedings, 13 of the 30 accused appeared before the court. All 13 are officials of the Bangladesh Army. The individuals produced include: Md Jahangir Alam, Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Md Qamrul Hasan, Md Mahabub Alam, KM Azad, Abdullah Al Momen, Md Moshiur Rahman Jewel, Saiful Islam Suman, Md Sarwar Bin Qashem, Anwar Latif Khan, Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, and Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui.
Earlier, on October 22, ICT-1 sent these 13 accused, along with two others—Mohammads Redwanul Islam and Rafat Bin Alam, who are charged in a separate crimes-against-humanity case—to jail.
The tribunal also directed the publication of notices in one English and one Bengali newspaper, instructing fugitive accused in the three cases to appear before the court.
Previously, on October 8, ICT-1 took cognisance of charges against 30 individuals, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in the two cases concerning enforced disappearances and torture.
In the JIC-related case, the prosecution has brought five charges against 13 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina and her former security and defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique. Other accused in this case include Md Akbar Hossain, Md Saiful Abedin, Md Saiful Alam, Md Tabrej Shams Chowdhury, Hamidul Haque, Mohammad Touhidul Islam, Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Kabir Ahmed, Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui, and Mokhchurul Haque.
In the TFI Cell case, another five charges have been brought against 17 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina and Tarique Ahmed Siddique. The other accused are former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed, M Khurshid Hossain, Barrister Md Harun Ur Rashid, Anwar Latif Khan, Md Jahangir Alam, Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, KM Azad, Md Qamrul Hasan, Md Mahabub Alam, Abdullah Al Momen, Md Sarwar Bin Qashem, Md Khairul Islam, Md Moshiur Rahman Jewel, and Saiful Islam Suman.
The tribunal’s orders mark the next step in proceedings against individuals accused of serious human rights violations, with hearings set to examine both the framing of charges and the indictments in these cases.