The prosecution at the International Crimes Tribunal-1 has formally urged the court to indict 13 individuals — including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina — over allegations of enforced disappearances and torture said to have been carried out at Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) during last Awami League administration. Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam on Sunday pressed the tribunal to frame five specific charges under the allegations.
Three of the accused — Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui and Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui — were produced before the bench for the hearing.
Following the prosecution’s submission, the three-member panel chaired by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mazumder adjourned proceedings until December 9, when the defence is expected to argue its discharge petitions on behalf of the accused.
The tribunal had earlier, on October 8, taken cognisance of allegations against 30 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, across two separate cases involving alleged torture and disappearances at both the JIC and the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) Cell.
In the JIC-related case, prosecutors brought forward five charges against 13 accused, among them former security and defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, as well as 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.
A separate set of five charges was submitted against 17 individuals — again including Sheikh Hasina and Tarique Ahmed Siddique — for alleged abuses at the TFI Cell.
Others named in that case include Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, 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 will continue hearings next week as it considers whether to advance the cases to full trial.
PT/ra
