Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam on Sunday told the International Crimes Tribunal-2 that there was no ambiguity in the law regarding the tribunal鈥檚 jurisdiction to try the members of the armed forces for committing crimes against humanity.
He made the statement at the end of his opening remarks in the Ashulia crimes against humanity case.
The tribunal chairman, Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, asked Tajul Islam to clarify whether trials of top defence personnel, if found involved, would be held in the ICT or in another court.
In response, Tajul said that the question was 鈥榠rrelevant鈥�.
He explained that the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act of 1973 was specifically enacted to prosecute members of the armed forces responsible for committing genocide and crimes against humanity.
He noted that the law was later also amended to expand its jurisdiction.
Speaking to reporters later, Tajul reaffirmed that the law was clear and left no scope for doubts about the tribunal鈥檚 authority to try both armed and auxiliary forces.
He added that the ICT law was intended to ensure accountability for all state forces, including the military, the police, auxiliary units, and detective branches, if they commit widespread and systematic crimes against civilians.
On Sunday, prosecutor Gazi Monowar Hossain Tamim told 抖阴精品 that several complaints of enforced disappearances involving defence personnel were still under investigation.
He said that one investigation related to the enforced disappearance of 25 people was nearing completion.
The case names deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former Major General Ziaul Ahsan who is also a former director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre, and several other high-ranking officials.
Out of 12 individuals named in the case, only Ziaul Ahsan has been arrested so far. The International Crimes Tribunal issued arrest warrants for them on January 6, 2025, in connection with cases of enforced disappearances during the 15 years of the Awami League regime.
Ziaul Ahsan was initially arrested on August 16, 2024, in a separate murder case and was later shown arrested in the enforced disappearance case, according to officials.
The other 11 individuals facing arrest warrants include Sheikh Hasina, her former security and defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, retired Lieutenant Colonel Moksurul Haque, and former CTTC chief and DIG of police Md Asaduzzaman.
Six former top military intelligence officials named in the case are retired Lieutenant General Md Akbar Hossain, retired Major General Md Saiful Abedin, retired Lieutenant General Md Saiful Alam, retired Lieutenant General Ahmed Tabrez Shams Chowdhury, retired Major General Hamidul Huq, and retired Major General Mohammad Towhid-ul-Islam.
Members of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances said that these intelligence officials were accused under the principle of command responsibility, as they oversaw the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence鈥檚 Joint Interrogation Cell, commonly known as Aynaghar.
According to two commission members, four of the former DGFI chiefs were in Dhaka cantonment when the arrest warrants were issued. One of them, Md Saiful Abedin, is reportedly now residing in the United States.
