ICT prosecutor links ex-army officers with grave crimes

The chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Aminul Islam yesterday said two recently arrested retired senior military officers were involved in activities that fall within the definition of crimes against humanity, including secret detention, killings, and enforced disappearances.

He described former Director General of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Lt Gen (retd) Sheikh Mamun Khaled and another former army officer Lt Gen (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury as “accomplices of the fascist Awami League regime” and “perpetrators involved in serious crimes”.

He referred to alleged links to clandestine detention facilities, including the so-called “Aynaghar”, where detainees were reportedly held and tortured.

“There are serious allegations against them. They set up safe houses where many victims were tortured, leaving some permanently disabled,” Aminul later told The Daily Star.

He added that many victims taken to such facilities remain unaccounted for.

Describing the abuses as systematic, the chief prosecutor said individuals were reportedly detained, transferred between locations, and killed in an organised manner. In many cases, he said, deaths were later portrayed as outcomes of gunfights or operations to recover firearms.

Earlier, while briefing reporters, the chief prosecutor said the two retired officers were associated with multiple activities that fall under the definition of crimes against humanity.

He made the remarks around half an hour after he filed petitions before International Crimes Tribunal-2 seeking to show Mamun and Masud arrested in two separate cases of crimes against humanity.

Following the prosecution’s plea, the tribunal ordered relevant jail authorities to produce both accused before the tribunal on April 7.

A prosecutor told The Daily Star that Masud has been accused in connection with killings during the 2024 July mass uprising, while Mamun faces allegations of enforced disappearances.

Earlier on March 24, police detectives arrested Masud, widely known as one of the key architects of the 1/11 political changeover in 2007, from his residence in the capital. He is currently on a five-day remand in a human trafficking case filed with Paltan Police Station.

A Dhaka court yesterday placed Masud on a fresh six‑day remand in a case over human trafficking and forgery of documents.

The case was filed with Paltan Model Police Station on September 3, 2024, by a proprietor of Afia Overseas against 103 individuals, including former minister Imran Ahmed.

Masud previously served as general officer commanding (GOC) of the 9th Infantry Division in Savar during the state of emergency declared on January 11, 2007. Later, he was appointed chief coordinator of the National Coordination Committee on Serious Crimes and Corruption, promoted to lieutenant general, and posted to the National Defence College on June 2, 2008.

The detectives also arrested former DGFI chief Mamun from his residence in Mirpur DOHS on March 26. He is now being interrogated in custody after a court placed him on a five-day remand in a murder case filed with Mirpur Police Station in connection with the July mass uprising.

Aminul said further details could not be disclosed due to the ongoing investigation but said, “We expect that, based on the investigation findings, the former senior army officers will face trial before the tribunal,” he said.

He also expressed hope that, if proven, the accused would receive appropriate punishment to deter future abuses by public servants.