In a significant development, the Bangladesh Army has arrested at least 15 senior military officers. As per the reports, the arrests were made following an order issued by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on October 8. The army detained its own 15 serving officers inside the “Log Area” of the Dhaka Cantonment, where they are currently being held temporarily.
Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Tajul Islam has said that the 15 army officers currently in the custody of the Bangladesh Army must be produced before the tribunal within 24 hours, as required by law, following the issuance of arrest warrants in connection with enforced disappearance, torture and murder.
One officer, Major General Kabir Ahmed, is said to have escaped. The arrested officers may be handed over to civilian authorities tonight. Arrest warrants were issued following orders of the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal.
Acting swiftly on the International Crimes Tribunal’s order of October 8, the Bangladesh Army this evening arrested 15 officers before lodging them at the “log area” from where they could be handed over to the police, Northeast News has reliably learnt.
The 15 army officers now in military custody under arrest warrants issued by the International Crimes Tribunal must be brought before the court for trial, chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam said on Sunday.
Among the officer corps, over the ICT order and the strong possibility that 14 of the 24 serving officers would be taken into custody by civilian police authorities, the army top brass proceeded to implement the tribunal’s order.
At around 4:30 pm BST, the Bangladesh Army held a press conference to explain its position. One senior officer, Major General Kabir Ahmed, is said to have either escaped or received assistance in doing so. There is no information on where he may have moved to or whether other brother officers helped him escape.
The detentions came days after the country’s International Crimes Tribunal, an expedited civilian court set up to prosecute major crimes, issued arrest warrants for 32 people, including Ms. Hasina; her military secretary, Maj. Gen. Kabir Ahmed; and current and former security officers. The charges against them include abduction, torture and enforced disappearances, as well as unleashing brutal force against protesters that left more than 1,400 dead.
Maj. Gen. Md Hakimuzzaman, a spokesman for the military, said at a news conference on Saturday that at least 14 serving officers and one who was starting retirement were in army custody as part of the “legal process.” Many of the others named in the arrest warrants have either fled the country or gone into hiding.
Those detained are expected to face hearings at the tribunal on Oct. 22, which will determine whether they are freed on bail or face police arrest.
Some analysts interpreted the army’s announcement that the officers were in its “custody” as a way of protecting its turf, or of evading the usual process of arrest by the police.
During Ms. Hasina’s increasingly authoritarian rule, the police and military were accused of killing, torturing and disappearing political opponents and other dissenters. The military intelligence, in which General Ahmed served, and many units of police and counterterrorism forces ran detention centers that became known as Aynaghar, or “the House of Mirrors.”
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