Pilkhana carnage: Victims' families to pursue justice with ICT

Families of the victims of the 2009 Pilkhana carnage today said they will approach the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) to seek justice for the tragic incident.

They will file a complaint with the tribunal within the next two weeks, said advocate Shakib Rahman, son of slain army official Col Qudrat Elahi, at a press conference in the capital's Mohakhali.

They also demanded designating as martyrs the 74 individuals, including 57 army officers, who lost their lives in the Pilkhana carnage, declaring 25 February as Pilkhana Tragedy Day.

Shakib said, "Now, we hope the government will provide security to the victims' families filing the complaint, as the individuals we are suing were in power during the previous government."

Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, and Mirza Azam will be named in the complaint, he said, adding that under the Doctrine of Command Responsibility in international law, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina could also be held accountable. 

"As the then chief of the Ministry of Defence, she cannot evade responsibility. We will also file a complaint against her. In addition, the army officers at the time will be named, especially those who were DGFI officers. We will also name some journalists who created false narratives during that period."

Shakib also said that although the BDR mutiny case, ongoing for nearly 16 years, is in the Appellate Division, the latest updates are unknown to the victims' families.

"No communication has been made with us during this long period regarding the case." 

Rakin Ahmed Bhuiyan, son of slain BDR chief Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed, said, "The previous fascist Awami League government did not allow cases of enforced disappearances and murder to be tried. Since there are no obstacles now, the investigation into the BDR mutiny case should be completed swiftly, and those involved should be punished under the law."

On behalf of the victims' families, Nahrin Ferdousi, wife of another slain officer Col Mojibul Haque, raised several demands, including declaring 25 February as "Shaheed Shena Dibosh" before February 2025 and hoisting the national flag at half-mast across the country on that day.

Demanding a fresh investigation into the massacre, she said, "Let us be informed about the progress of the probe commission. Let all previous investigation reports be made public." 

She also demanded that the 57 army officers be given the status of martyrs in an official gazette and that the Pilkhana tragedy be included in school textbooks.

Fabliha Bushra, daughter of Lt Col Lutfur Rahman Khan; Fauzia Rashid, wife of Lt Col Kazi Robi Rahman; his brother Kazi Oli Rahman; Mamun, brother of Col Ershad; Ashraful Alam Hannan, son of central subedar Maj Nurul Islam; and Labi Rahman, wife of Col Qudrat Elahi, were present, among others.