Families of 12 victims of enforced disappearances from 2011 to 2020 on Wednesday filed 11 separate cases with the International Crimes Tribunal against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, members of law enforcement agencies, and other associates. Ten of the victims still remain missing.
The cases were filed following the interim government鈥檚 law adviser Md Asif Nazrul鈥檚 announcement on September 23 regarding proposed amendments to the International Crimes Tribunal Act, 1973.
The amendments seek to expand the definition of crimes against humanity to include enforced disappearances and five other categories of serious offences.
Hasina, the deposed prime minister and president of the Awami League, is the principal accused in most of these cases.
She fled to India on August 5 amid a student-led mass uprising that ousted her from office.
Since Hasina鈥檚 ouster total 42 cases has been filed with the ICT till Wednesday, 13 of which are related to enforced disappearances.聽
The remaining cases relate to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the unrest that culminated in Hasina鈥檚 deposition.
Among the untraced enforced disappearances victims are Aminul Islam and Anisur Rahman who were allegedly picked by members of the Rapid Action Battalion on October 31, 2011.
Other untraced victims include individuals like Sohel Mianji, who disappeared after being arrested in Munshiganj on February 3, 2014, and Abdullah, who went missing from Banani on July 10, 2011.
Other untraced victims include Iqbal Hossain from Agargaon on December 3, 2011, Aynul Islam from Madanpur Chowrashta in Narayanganj on July 4, 2020, Mohammad Sazu from Mohammapur on August 27, 2018, Kuddus Rahman Chowdhury from Mirpur-1 on November 1, 2014, Mohammad Quyyum from Gabtali on April 30, 2013, and Mohammad Mostaq from Bhasantek on June 6, 2020.
Families of the victims had yet to know if their near and dear ones who were abducted by plainclothes people, introducing them as members of law enforcement agencies in different times, were alive or dead, said International Crimes Tribunal chief prosecutor Md Tajul Islam.
Families of the victims continue to live in uncertainty, he added.
The abductions, reportedly carried out by individuals claiming to be law enforcement officers, have left them in anguish, he said.
In addition to these cases, a list of 64 victims of enforced disappearances was submitted to the tribunal by an organisation called Families of Enforced Disappearances.
Belal Hossain, a coordinator for the group and a victim of enforced disappearance himself, also filed a separate case. Belal was abducted on October 10, 2016, and was released on November 2, 2016, in Kanchan, Narayanganj.
Lawyer Sohel Rana, another victim who was abducted on February 10, 2015, and returned on August 13, 2015, has also filed a case.
The newly filed cases intensify the legal and political scrutiny surrounding the former prime minister, as over 200 additional criminal cases related to killings and other offences during her rule are already pending against her.