Dhaka, October 22 (IANS). Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) on Wednesday ordered the jailing of 15 army officers. However, the ICT says the steps were taken in three separate cases of alleged enforced disappearances, murders and other crimes against humanity during the Awami League government. Let us tell you, the officers who were acted upon were considered to be close to Sheikh Hasin. A three-member bench of ICT-1 headed by Justice Ghulam Murtuza Majumdar issued this order after hearing a petition on Wednesday morning. According to reports, the accused officers sought bail, but the tribunal rejected the pleas and ordered them to be jailed. Regarding the case, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam said: “The tribunal has ordered the jailing of 15 army officers produced today in cases of enforced disappearance and murder.” Bangladesh media outlet UNB cited the prosecution as saying that a total of 34 people, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, were named in the three cases, while 15 of the 25 accused military officers are currently in custody. Earlier, on October 11, Bangladesh Army Headquarters announced that 15 officers were taken into military custody after they were formally charged in three cases in ICT. Let us tell you that out of the 25 military officers against whom allegations have been made, nine have been retired or suspended. “A total of 15 accused officers are now in army custody, while one officer is still unaccountable. He left his home one morning and has not returned since then. Efforts are being made to trace his whereabouts,” Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, The Business Standard, quoted Bangladesh Army’s Adjutant General Major Mohammad Hakimuzzaman as saying. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina strongly objected to the arrest of military officers. Referring to the country’s interim government, he said that there is no rule of law in Bangladesh under the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus. Addressing a virtual meeting with party leaders in Nagaon, he asked: “I am shocked at how the army can be expected to hand over these officers to the law. Where is the law? There is no rule of law in this country. This government is illegal, and all its actions are illegal. Why should these officers be handed over to such a government?” Speaking about the ICT, Hasina went on to say, “We established the tribunal to try those who opposed the independence of Bangladesh. However, they amended the tribunal’s statutes so extensively that it became a ‘Yunus court’ or a ‘Jamaat court’—a court controlled by war criminals.” –IANS KK/GKT
Ahead of elections in Bangladesh, army against court, ICT jailed 15 army officers
