Three army officers have been produced before the International Crimes Tribunal in a case concerning crimes against humanity, specifically enforced disappearance and torture, allegedly carried out in the JIC cell or "Aynaghar" (House of Mirrors) during the long rule of the Awami League.
The police brought them to the Tribunal around 10:00 AM on Tuesday (December 9) from the special prison in Dhaka Cantonment.
On this day, lawyers for the State Defence and the arrested accused will present their arguments in the case before the judicial panel headed by Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder, Chairman of Tribunal-1.
The three officers are former Director of the DGFI, Major General Sheikh Md. Sarwar Hossain, Brigadier General Md. Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, and Brigadier General Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui.
Other absconding accused in this case, including Sheikh Hasina, are Major General (Retd.) Tarique Ahmed Siddique (former Defence Advisor to Sheikh Hasina), Lieutenant General (Retd.) Mohammad Akbar Hossain (former Director General (DG) of DGFI), Major General (Retd.) Saiful Abedin (former DG), Lieutenant General (Retd.) Md. Saiful Alam, Lieutenant General Tabrej Shams Chowdhury (former DG), Major General (Retd.) Hamidul Haque (former DG), Major General Towhidul Islam, Major General Kabir Ahammed, and Lieutenant Colonel (Retd.) Mokhsurul Haque.
On December 7, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam presented arguments on framing charges. The Chief Prosecutor requested the framing of charges against 13 accused in the case, citing five specific allegations. Later, the Tribunal set today for the hearing after the State Defence and the lawyers for the three arrested accused sought time.
It is worth noting that the prosecution filed formal charges against 13 individuals in this case on October 8. Subsequently, the court took the charges into cognizance and issued arrest warrants against them. Following this, an order was given to publish notices in two national newspapers within seven days for the appearance of the absconding accused.
