Enforced disappearances: ICT issues arrest warrants against Hasina, 11 others

The International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 11 others in connection with the incidents of enforced disappearance that occurred during the 15-year rule of the Awami League (AL).

The tribunal, led by its Chairman Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mojumdar, issued the order today (6 January) after hearing an ICT prosecution team application seeking their arrest.

The inspector general of police (IGP) has been ordered to arrest the 12 individuals and produce them before the tribunal on 12 February.

Apart from Hasina, Maj Gen (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former defence adviser to the ousted prime minister, and former IGP Benazir Ahmed are among the others, who were members of different law enforcement agencies, now wanted over complaints of enforced disappearance.

Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam said that agencies like Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch (DB), Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, and Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) were most frequently used and involved in these incidents during the AL regime.

Talking to the media, Tajul said the next hearing is scheduled for 12 February. The tribunal has instructed that the investigation report be submitted on that day if completed.

"However, if the investigation report can't be submitted by then, the law enforcement agencies have been directed to provide a progress report on the arrests of the accused," he added.

This is the second arrest warrant issued by the ICT against Hasina after she fled to India with her sister Sheikh Rehana on 5 August last year in the face of a nationwide mass uprising led by students.

On 17 October, the first warrant was issued against Hasina, who is also the AL president, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the July-August protests and uprising.