Dhaka: The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 today scheduled December 21 for the issuance of an indictment order against 17 individuals, including the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The charges pertain to cases of enforced disappearances and alleged torture carried out at the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) Cell during the previous administration of the Awami League government.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mazumder, who chairs the three-member panel of ICT-1, announced the date following a hearing on the matter conducted this afternoon. The prosecution, led by Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam, advocated for the framing of four specific charges against the accused, which include Sheikh Hasina and her former security and defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique. Conversely, the defense counsel sought the discharge of these accusations.
The list of defendants in this case includes Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Benazir Ahmed, M Khurshid Hossain, 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. Of these, ten military officials are currently in custody.
On a prior occasion, October 8, the tribunal acknowledged the charges against 30 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, across two separate cases concerning alleged enforced disappearances and torture at the TFI Cell and the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) during the tenure of the Awami League. The JIC case implicates Sheikh Hasina, former adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, and others like Md Akbar Hossain, Md Saiful Abedin, Md Saiful Alam, Md Tabrej Shams Chowdhury, Hamidul Haque, Mohammad Touhidul Islam, Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Kabir Ahammed, Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui, Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui, and Mokhchurul Haque.