
During a hearing today at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam made a comparison between Ziaul Ahsan and Radovan Karadžić, the notorious “butcher” of Bosnia who was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Tajul Islam said, “Ziaul Ahsan was the originator behind the brutal tactics in Bangladesh, including enforced disappearances, torture, murder, and the disposal of bodies. While the Awami League government was in power, he systematically abducted, tortured, and detained members of opposition political parties who dared to speak out—many of whom have never been seen again.”

He added, “It has also come to light that BNP leader Ilias Ali was abducted and killed under Ziaul’s direction.”
In a press briefing at the court premises, Naznin Nahar, sister and lawyer of Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan, she asked, “Did he buy the surveillance tools with his personal money?”

Her comments came after the tribunal heard charges against former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, former head of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan, and six other officials who are accused of crimes against humanity committed during the July-August uprising.
The case, filed with the ICT, accuses Ziaul Ahsan and others of planning, executing, aiding, abetting, and inciting the massacre of protesters during the movement.

When journalists asked her about allegations that Ziaul Ahsan had purchased spy devices to monitor individuals, Naznin Nahar responded by questioning whether the tools were bought at her brother’s personal expense.
She also appealed to the media, urging them not to misrepresent her brother.
“It is inhuman to punish someone before the trial is complete,” she said, criticising what she described as a “media trial.” She clarified that Ziaul Ahsan is a retired officer of the Bangladesh Army and not a sacked one, as some media outlets have reported.
Naznin Nahar also addressed claims that her brother was involved in the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) — a technical office with no connection to the military, secret detention cells, or any form of torture.
“He never worked at the DGFI,” she asserted, lamenting the “pathetic” media portrayal of Ziaul Ahsan and the impact on his family.
Responding to a journalist’s question about the chief prosecutor’s claim that Ziaul Ahsan was the mastermind behind Aynaghar, where detainees were allegedly tortured, Naznin Nahar countered, “What do you know about NTMC’s work?”

She compared the NTMC to a library, explaining that it was a digital platform where law enforcement agencies accessed data as needed.
“It’s like a librarian giving a book to a reader. The librarian doesn’t choose what the reader reads,” she said, stressing that it was not the responsibility of NTMC officials to control how the information was used.
Major General Ziaul Ahsan was Hasina’s henchman.
A two-star general of the Bangladesh Army, who was sacked a day after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government and has been linked to several enforced disappearances, was arrested by Bangladesh Police on a murder charge.
Maj Gen Ziaul Ahsan was one of the most influential army officers during Hasina’s rule and was considered very close to her. He is the first general to be arrested on a murder charge since the fall of Hasina’s government on August 5 following weeks of student-led protests.
Ahsan was arrested in Khilkhet area of Dhaka on Thursday night, police said. “On a tip-off, former director general of NTMC [National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre] Ziaul Ahsan was arrested in connection of a case with New Market Police Station,” said a brief statement from Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that Ahsan was arrested in connection with the murder of street vendor Shahjahan Ali during clashes stemming from recent protests. On Wednesday, former law minister Anisul Haq and former adviser Salman F Rahman were arrested in the same case.
Over the years, Ahsan was accused of involvement in several extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, the people said. There were also allegations Hasina’s regime misused the NTMC to conduct surveillance on her opponents, dissidents and rights activists.
A day after Hasina stepped down and fled to India, Bangladesh Army chief Gen Waker-uz-Zaman sacked Ahsan, and Maj Gen ASM Ridwanur Rahman was appointed the new director general of NTMC. This was part of a major shake-up of the army’s hierarchy.
The NTMC, a national-level intelligence agency, was responsible mainly for tapping phones and surveillance of social media. The Awami League government equipped the agency with cutting-edge technology for intelligence gathering.
Commissioned into the Bangladesh Army in 1991, Ahsan was a commando and paratrooper serving in the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). He joined RAB as a deputy commander in March 2009, three months after the Awami League came to power. The same year, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and appointed director of RAB’s intelligence wing.
Ahsan was transferred to the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) as deputy director general before being attached to the National Security Intelligence (NSI) as director in 2016. He became director of the NTMC in 2017. In 2022, the government created the post of director general and promoted Ahsan to fill the position.
On August 14, Mayer Dak, a civil society organisation, gave the interim government a 24-hour ultimatum to arrest those responsible for enforced disappearances during Hasina’s rule. The group’s demands included the arrest of Ahsan.
The organisation, which represents families of the disappeared, organised a human chain in front of the National Press Club and sought the return of those who have gone missing over the past 15 years, allegedly due to actions by state security forces.
Sanjida Islam Tuli, coordinator of Mayer Dak, said: “We are issuing a 24-hour ultimatum: Ziaul Aasan, Tarique Siddiqui and other officials implicated in these disappearances must be arrested immediately. They must provide information about the missing persons so they can be freed and reunited with their families.”
Murder and abduction by Major General Ziaul Ahsan
General ordered the killing of journalists Sagor and Runi as well as Ilias Ali. Major General Ziaul Ahsan personally executed Ilias Ali using his service rifle.
Former army officer Major General Ziaul Ahsan was arrested today in a case filed with New Market Police Station over plotting to abduct and murder of Colonel (retired) Md Tauhidul Islam Chowdhury in December 2018.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saifur Rahman passed the order after Investigation Officer Tauhidul Islam, a sub-inspector of New Market Police Station, produced him before it and submitted an application in this regard.
After the order, the magistrate sent Ziaul Ahsan to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.
On September 19, Col (retd) Tauhidul, chief of the personal security team of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, filed the complaint with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Zakir Hossain.
After recording the complainant’s statement, the court asked New Market Police Station to register the matter as a first information report (FIR).
Plainclothes security officials picked up col (retd) Tauhidul from his Elephant Road house on December 27, 2018.
He was sent to jail under two fake cases after being kept confined in a secret place for two days. When Tauhidul finally came out of jail on bail, police did not record a general diary over his detention and confinement.
On August 16, Ziaul Ahsan, former director general of National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC), was arrested from Dhaka’s Khilkhet in a case filed with New Market Police Station over the killing of Shahjahan Ali, 24, during quota reform protests on July 16.
He was relieved of his post in the army on August 6 and was detained in dramatic circumstances around midnight the same day, after the plane he was on was brought back from the Dhaka airport runway to the boarding bridge.
General Ahsan’s corruption probe
On Wednesday, the Anti-Corruption Commission ( ACC) formed a three-member committee to investigate the allegations against Major General (retired) Ziaul Ahsan.
ACC spokesperson Aktarul said Deputy Director Salauddin was made the committee’s head, while Assistant Director Ranjit Kumar Sarkar and Deputy Assistant Director Jabed Hasan Sajal were made members.
Over the past decade of his career, he has been criticised for his involvement in controversial activities, including enforced disappearances and murders.
Ziaul Ahsan also served in RAB, the National Security Intelligence (NSI) agency, and the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC).
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