Bangladesh: The International Crimes Tribunal-1 has appointed senior Supreme Court lawyer Z I Khan Panna as the state-assigned defence counsel for former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been shown as absconding in two separate cases involving allegations of enforced disappearances and torture during the previous Awami League regime.
The appointment was announced today (Sunday) by the two-member bench of ICT-1, headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, with Justice Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury as the other member.
17 Accused in TFI Cell Disappearance Case
One of the cases centres on allegations that individuals were forcibly disappeared and held inside the Taskforce for Interrogation Cell (TFI Cell).
A total of 17 people, including Sheikh Hasina, have been charged. Of them, 10 accused are in custody and were produced before the tribunal today.
Those currently detained include:
Brig Gen Md Jahangir Alam
Brig Gen Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar
Brig Gen Md Kamrul Hasan
Brig Gen Md Mahbub Alam
Brig Gen KM Azad
Col Abdullah Al Momen
Col Anwar Latif Khan (on PRL)
Lt Col Md Moshiur Rahman
Lt Col Saiful Islam Suman
Lt Col Md Sarwar Bin Kashem
During the previous Awami League government, the first seven of these officers served as Additional Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), while the remaining three were RAB’s intelligence wing directors.
Seven accused in this case—including Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and former PM’s security adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique—remain fugitives.
13 Accused in JIC Disappearance Case
In the second case, related to allegations of disappearances at the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC), 13 individuals have been charged, including Sheikh Hasina and Tarique Ahmed Siddique.
Three former DGFI directors—
Maj Gen Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain
Brig Gen Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddique
Brig Gen Ahmed Tanvir Majahar Siddique—
were brought before the tribunal today as they are in custody.
Ten others, including Sheikh Hasina, have been listed as absconding.
Panna to Represent Hasina in Both Files
Since Sheikh Hasina has been shown as a fugitive in both disappearance cases, ICT-1 has appointed Z I Khan Panna to represent her as state-assigned legal counsel.
Background:
Earlier, on October 23, ICT-1 ordered 15 army officers into jail custody in connection with three separate crimes-against-humanity cases involving enforced disappearances, torture, and alleged abuses committed during the AL tenure and the July mass uprising in Dhaka’s Rampura and Banasree areas.
The order was passed early in the morning by the tribunal led by Justice Mortuza Majumder, with Justices Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud and Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury as members.
According to tribunal sources, 14 of the officers are active-duty personnel, while one is on retirement leave.
The officers brought to court included several former RAB Additional Director Generals and intelligence directors, as well as former DGFI officials. Heavy security was deployed throughout the court zone and surrounding areas.
Across the three cases examined in October, 32 people—including 25 serving or former army officers—were named as accused.
Many high-ranking former officials, including former RAB chiefs Benazir Ahmed, M Khurshid Hossain, and Md Harun-or-Rashid, have been listed as fugitives.
Several former DGFI chiefs and senior officers have also been charged, with some believed to have fled abroad. Two former police officials accused in the July uprising case also remain absconding.
