Twenty former ministers, advisers, secretaries, and security forces personnel were arrested today by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), allowing the prosecution to enter two distinct pleas.
The orders were issued this afternoon by the ICT’s three-judge panel, which was presided over by Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Mozumder.
“We moved three separate applications today. Of the three, two were for showing total 20 people, who have already been arrested in other cases and are now behind bars, arrested in cases lodged under the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). Under one petition, the court showed 14 people, including Anisul Huq, Faruk Khan, Dr Dipu Moni, Rashed Khan Menon, Hasanul Haque Inu, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Salman F Rahman, Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, Shajahan Khan, Kamal Ahmed Mazumder, Golam Dastagir Gazi, AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik and former home secretary Md Jahangir Alam arrested. The court ordered to produce them before it on November 18,” ICT chief prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam said.
“Under the 2nd petition, we pleaded to show six former officials of security agencies arrested. They are former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, sacked Maj Gen Ziaul Ahsan, former additional superintendent of police (ASP) Abdullahel Kafi, former detective branch (DB) of police inspector Arafat Hossain, Abul Hasan and Mazharul Islam. The court allowed our plea and ordered to produce these six former security officials on November 20,” Tajul added.
The chief prosecutor further said the tribunal, which is set to hold trial of murder, genocides, crimes against humanity committed during the anti-discrimination student movement in July and August, also issued arrest warrant against 17 policemen, including former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Habibur Rahman.
“I cannot reveal all the names for security reason so that these accused cannot escape the country to evade justice. The tribunal issued the arrest warrant against them and ordered to produce them before the court on November 20,” Advocate Muhammad Tajul Islam said.
The chief prosecutor also said the prosecution has so far filed three miscellaneous cases, of which one was filed against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, another was against former cabinet members including Obaidul Quader and today the third one was filed against former police officials.
“These accused killed civilians in cold blood, using deadly weapons in widespread and systematic way. They even used military instruments like helicopters and armored personnel carrier against unarmed civilians. They carried out inhuman acts like killing the already injured people by torture, burning their bodies, hiding those to destroy evidences, obstructing to bury the bodies, not issuing any medical certificates. We do not want to move hastily, so that names of innocents do not get included in the case and names of real perpetrators are not left out. So, we will bring the petitions in phases,” he also said.
Among those in attendance were prosecutors Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim and B.M. Sultan Mahmud.
