October 9, 2025
DHAKA – The prosecution yesterday formally charged 28 people, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 23 top and mid-ranking current and former army officers, at International Crimes Tribunal-1 in two cases of enforced disappearances, secret detention, and torture in the 15 years of her rule.
In a third case, formal charges were pressed against former Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officials Lt Col Redwanul Islam, Major Md Rafat Bin Alam Mun and two police officers over the killings of 28 people and crimes against humanity in Rampura during the July uprising last year.
Altogether in the three cases — two over enforced disappearance and one over killings in Rampura — 25 former and serving army officers have been formally charged.
In both cases of enforced disappearance, Maj Gen (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former defence and security adviser to Hasina, is a co-accused of the deposed prime minister. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal is also accused in one of these cases.
A prosecutor told The Daily Star that in the two cases, nine of the accused are former and 13 are serving army officers. They had served in the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab). It could not be confirmed whether another brigadier general accused in one of the cases is currently in service or retired.
The tribunal took cognisance of all the charges in the three cases and issued arrest warrants against the accused. The three-member panel fixed October 22 for the next hearing and directed the authorities concerned to produce the accused that day.
This is the first time in Bangladesh’s history that serving military officers have been charged in a civil court for alleged crimes against humanity.
“This is an unprecedented development,” said Maj Gen (retd) ANM Muniruzzaman. “In the past, no military officers were ever charged with crimes against humanity, so the question of their trial in a civil court simply did not arise. Offences by serving officers were typically tried in military courts under service regulations,” he told The Daily Star.
Speaking to journalists after filing the charges, Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam said that under the amended law, individuals can no longer be treated as serving officers once they are formally charged in the ICT.
On Monday, the government amended the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, barring individuals facing formal charges from holding or running for public office. They are also ineligible for appointment to or for holding any service of the republic.
During the hearing, Tajul read out the formal charges, naming the accused and the specific allegations against them.
Several victims of enforced disappearance, including former Brig Gen Abdullahil Aman Azmi, son of late Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam, Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, son of late Jamaat leader Mir Quasem Ali, Humam Quader Chowdhury, son of late BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, Mikel Chakma, and former army officer Hasinur Rahman, were present in court.
Tajul said the tribunal instructed relevant agencies, including the police and the services where the accused are employed, to carry out the arrests.
In one of the cases, Hasina, Tarique, five former DGFI chiefs, five former directors of its Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Bureau (CTIB), and another former DGFI official have been accused on five counts related to enforced disappearances and torture at the DGFI’s Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC).
The former DGFI chiefs are Lt Gen (retd) Md Akbar Hossain, Lt Gen (retd) Md Saiful Alam, Lt Gen (retd) Ahmed Tabrez Shams Chowdhury, Maj Gen (retd) Md Saiful Abedin, and Maj Gen (retd) Hamidul Haque.
The former CTIB directors are Maj Gen Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain, Maj Gen (retd) Mohammad Towhidul Ul Islam, Maj Gen Kabir Ahmed, Brig Gen Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddique, and Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Mazahar Siddique. Former DGFI official Lt Col (retd) Mokhsurul Haque was also named.
Another case accuses Hasina, Tarique, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Rab chiefs Benazir Ahmed, M Khurshid Hossain and Harun or Rashid, along with 11 army officers who served in Rab. The charges include detaining political activists, journalists, bloggers, and others with dissenting views in secret prisons. They allegedly subjected detainees to torture and, in some cases, killed them inside the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell at the Rab-1 compound.
The current and former army officers accused in the case are Col (retd) Anwar Latif Khan, Brig Gen Md Jahangir Alam, Brig Gen Tofail Mostafa Sarwar, Brig Gen Kamrul Hasan, Brig Gen Md Mahbub Alam, Col K M Azad, Col Abdullah Al Momen, Lt Col (retd) Muhammad Khairul Islam, Lt Col Md Moshiur Rahman Jewel, and Lt Col Saiful Islam Sumon, and Lt Col Sarwar Bin Kashem.
The third case accuses Lt Col Redwanul, Maj Rafat, DMP’s former additional deputy commissioner of Khilgaon Division Md Rashedul Islam, and former Rampura Police Station officer-in-charge Md Mashiur Rahman on six counts for allegedly killing 28 people and committing crimes against humanity in Rampura during the July uprising.
A joint investigation by The Daily Star and Tech Global Institute revealed how Rampura became a hotspot of state-sanctioned killings on July 19, 2024.
According to the report published on August 7 this year, forensic analysis indicated Lt Col Redwanul fired a semi-automatic Type 56 assault rifle, potentially killing at least one victim — 14-year-old Ashiqul Islam,
In-depth forensic analyses confirmed a match by comparing footage from Banasree and Rampura, indicating that the same suspected shooter was present in both locations, The Daily Star independently verified his name and identity. Sources in intelligence agencies, the International Crimes Tribunal, and journalists who were present on the ground identified him as Lt Col Redwanul.
Speaking to reporters after the proceedings, Tajul said prosecutors had already substantiated several allegations among thousands of complaints received, forming the basis of the formal charges now before the tribunal.
Describing the formal charges in stark detail to the tribunal and later to the journalists, Tajul listed methods of torture allegedly used in secret detention: prolonged beatings, electric chairs, electric shocks, genital electrocution, severing of limbs, and cutting open abdomens before dumping bodies in the Buriganga river.
“One day or another, every perpetrator must face trial…. Now that proceedings have begun, efforts will be made to conclude them lawfully in the shortest possible time,” he added.
The chief prosecutor also told the tribunal that “Ayna Ghar”, also referred to as “Art Gallery”, was a code name used by Rab for its secret detention facilities. Detainees were assigned symbolic titles, with the most valuable referred to as “Mona Lisa”. The Rab’s “Ayna Ghar” or TFI Cell was euphemistically called the “Hospital” or “Clinic”.
Speaking to the media after the court proceedings, several victims who endured years of unlawful detention said they sought justice, not revenge.
They described severe mental and physical abuse and urged fair trials so such abuses never recur. They also called for perpetrators, at home or abroad, to be brought to justice and for victims’ families to receive compensation.