The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) on Wednesday sent 15 army officials, who were in the army custody, to jail in three cases related to enforced disappearance, murder and July uprising killing case.

A three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, issued this order. Earlier, the officers were transported to the tribunal around 7:15AM amid tight security. Members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police were deployed in and around the court area.

The officers were transported in a green-coloured special prison van with AC facility.

The accused officers, held in custody over allegations of enforced disappearances and killings during the Awami League’s regime, were brought to the tribunal amid strict security around 7:15AM. They appealed for bail but the tribunal rejected their petitions and ordered their detention in jail.

Among those sent to prison are former Rapid Action Battalion (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 Gen K.M. Azad, Col Abdullah Al Momen and Col Anwar Latif Khan (now on retirement leave).

Others include ex-Rab intelligence wing officials Lt Col Md Mashiur Rahman, Lt Col Saiful Islam Sumon, Lt Col Sarwar Bin Kashem, Lt Col Mohammad Redwanul Islam, and former Borger Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officer Maj Md Rafat-bin-Alam.

The tribunal also ordered the imprisonment of three former DGFI directors -Maj Gen Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Brig Gen Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, and Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Majahar Siddiqui. According to the prosecution, 34 individuals, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, have been named as accused in the three cases. One case names 17 accused, another 13 and the third four.

The first case involves allegations that opposition figures were abducted and secretly detained and tortured inside the Task Force Interrogation (TFI) cell operated by Rab during the Awami League’s tenure. In the case, the formal charges naming Hasina and 16 others were submitted on October 8.

The second case was filed against Hasina, and 12 others over enforced disappearances allegedly carried out at the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC), also known as the “Aynaghar.” The third case accuses four officers, including BGB’s Lt Col Redwanul Islam, of crimes against humanity for the killing of 28 people during the July-August movement in Rampura.

Sun News/ra