Thirteen serving Bangladesh Army officers were produced before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Sunday in two enforced disappearance cases.
They were accused of the crimes while serving on deputation with the DGFI and the Rapid Action Battalion during the ousted Awami League regime.
The officers arrived at the tribunal at about 10:00am in an air-conditioned prison van under tight security. It was their second appearance in the proceedings.
They were kept in the tribunal lockup as the three-judge bench was scheduled to resume the hearings at 11:00am, prosecution officials said.
Two other army officers, accused of committing crimes against humanity over the July 2024 Rampura murders during the mass uprising, are scheduled to be produced before the tribunal on Monday.
The two arrested officers 鈥� Lieutenant Colonel Ridwanul Islam and Major Rifat Bin Alam Moon 鈥� were produced before the ICT in a separate case over the killing of 28 people during the July 2024 mass uprising in Rampura. The murders took place on July 18 and 19.
Deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her former defence adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique are common accused in both enforced disappearance cases. With them included, the number of accused in the two cases now stands at 28.
The 13 army officers produced on Sunday were brought from the sub-jail inside Dhaka Cantonment, where they had been kept since October 22.
The detained officers in the first case are Colonel AKM Azad, Colonel Abdullah Al Momen, Lieutenant Colonel Mashiur Rahman Jewel, Brigadier General Kamrul Hasan, Brigadier General Md Mahbub Alam, Brigadier General Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Lieutenant Colonel Anwar Latif Khan, Brigadier General Md Jahangir Alam, Lieutenant Colonel Sarwar Bin Kashem, and Lieutenant Colonel Saiful Islam Suman.
These 10 officers, who served in RAB-1 at the time, are among 17 accused in a crimes against humanity case over the enforced disappearance of 13 people, including Supreme Court lawyer Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman, son of executed war crimes convict Mir Quasem Ali. Other accused include Sheikh Hasina, Tarique Ahmed Siddique and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan.
Four accused in this first case 鈥� retired Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Khairul Islam and former RAB directors general Benazir Ahmed, Barrister Harun-or-Rashid and Khurshid Hossen 鈥� remain absconding.
The remaining three detained officers 鈥� Brigadier General Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddique, Major General Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain and Brigadier General Mahbub Rahman Siddique 鈥� were produced in the second enforced disappearance case, which involves the abduction of 26 victims between 2016 and August 5, 2024. Eight officers, including serving Major General Kabir Ahmed, are absconding in this case.
The absconding officers include five former DGFI directors general 鈥� 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 and retired Major General Hamidul Huq 鈥� along with retired Major General Mohammad Towhid-ul-Islam and retired Lieutenant Colonel Mokhsurul Haq.
Seventeen people are accused in the second case, including suspended Brigadier General Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, son of former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam; Humam Quader Chowdhury, son of BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury; and UPDF leader Michael Chakma. Of them, 13 鈥� including Hasina, Siddique and the three detained officers 鈥� have now been produced.
Across the three related cases, 32 individuals have been accused. They include 16 serving army officers, one of whom is absconding. Sheikh Hasina, her former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, three former RAB chiefs from the police, nine former army officers and two police personnel also remain on the run.