ICT rejects virtual hearing request for arrested army officers

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 has rejected a plea for virtual appearance by 13 arrested army officers accused in enforced disappearance cases, ruling that they must appear in person before the tribunal.

Today's hearing before a three-member bench led by Justice Golam Mortuza Mojumdar emphasised: "The law is equal for all – if former chief justices and ministers can appear, why can't army officers?"

The 13 officers were produced in person for the second consecutive day. They were brought from a temporary jail in Dhaka Cantonment around 10:00am in air-conditioned prison vans. Among them are one Major General, six Brigadier Generals, four Colonels, and two Lieutenant Colonels.

Fifteen accused, including Sheikh Hasina and Tarique Siddique, remain at large in the cases. Five former DGFI directors are also fugitives. The prosecution said 17 individuals are accused in the RAB TFI cell torture case and 13 in the DGFI "Mirror Room" disappearance case. On 22 October, the arrested officers were first produced in court, and the tribunal ordered newspaper notices for the fugitives to surrender.

In the meantime, the tribunal has appointed senior lawyer ZI Khan Panna as defence counsel for Sheikh Hasina. Additionally, the court has directed the Information Ministry and BTRC to remove derogatory images and comments about the tribunal judges from newspapers, TV, and social media.