Bangladesh tribunal takes up disappearance cases against ex-PM Hasina, issues arrest warrants

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has accepted charges in two cases filed against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the enforced disappearances of political dissidents during her government’s tenure.

A three-member ICT bench, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, took cognisance of the charges on Wednesday and issued arrest warrants against Hasina and 29 others implicated in the case, according to prosecutors.

ICT Chief Prosecutor Md Tajul Islam said the prosecution had submitted formal charges against 30 people, seeking their arrest in connection with the two cases.

The cases accuse Hasina and others of overseeing the detention, torture and disappearance of political opponents at secret facilities operated by elite security agencies.

The first case implicates Hasina, her former defence advisor, retired major general Tarique Ahmed Siddique, and 15 others over the disappearance and torture of detainees in a secret cell operated by the Rapid Action Battalion’s Task Force Interrogation unit.

The second case involves alleged torture at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC), accusing 13 people, including Hasina and several former heads of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).

Five charges of crimes against humanity have been filed in that case.

In the second case, charges were submitted against Hasina, Tarique, and 13 others over disappearance and torture in the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence’s Joint Interrogation Cell.

Prosecutors said five charges of crimes against humanity were filed there as well.

Separately, the prosecution filed charges against four people, including an officer of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), over the shooting of a protester in Dhaka’s Rampura during the July movement. That case carries six charges in total.

During the Awami League’s tenure, there were allegations of opposition figures being taken away and held in secret detention centres without trial.

These detention centres came to be known colloquially as “Ayna Ghor”, or house of mirrors.

To address the allegations, the government appointed a commission led by retired judge Moinul Islam Chowdhury in August 2024.

Its first interim report, released in December, said investigators had found evidence linking Hasina directly as an “instructor of disappearances”.

The report also named several of her senior officials, including Tarique, retired major general Ziaul Ahsan of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre, and senior police officers Md Monirul Islam and Harunor Rashid.

The commission’s second interim report, submitted on Jun 4, pointed to widespread involvement of police and intelligence agencies.

Victims, relatives, and witnesses identified the police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the Detective Branch (DB), and the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit as the main perpetrators.

The report also cited evidence implicating officials from the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the National Security Intelligence (NSI), and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

The DGFI, in particular, was alleged to have operated clandestine detention centres, including the notorious “Ayna Ghor,” where prisoners were kept in isolation and subjected to torture.

On Feb 12, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus visited three of these facilities.

At a press conference on Jul 3, Col Md Shafiqul Islam of the army’s Military Operations Directorate said members of the Army who are on deputation are not under the control of the Army.

Allegations have surfaced against several Army officers on deputation, and an investigation is currently under way.

“If evidence of involvement in the enforced disappearances is found, then the Army will definitely take legal action,” he said.

The interim government has since moved to codify enforced disappearances as a capital crime.

On Aug 25, the Advisory Council gave in-principle approval to the draft “Enforced Disappearances Prevention and Redress Ordinance, 2025".

The proposed law defines enforced disappearances as a crime, establishes the death penalty as the maximum punishment, and criminalises the use of secret detention centres.

It also authorises the National Human Rights Commission to receive and investigate complaints