Surrendered army officers innocent, actual perpetrators fled the country: Defence lawyer
The 15 army officers who surrendered before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in connection with three lawsuits, filed on charges of crimes against humanity, are innocent, their counsel advocate M. Sarwar Hossain has claimed.
He argued that the actual perpetrators have fled to India.
Speaking to newspersons after the hearing at the ICT-1 today, Wednesday, Sarwar Hossain said the officers had appeared before the court voluntarily, out of respect for the law.
Following the tribunal’s order to send them to jail, the officers were taken to the sub-jail inside Dhaka Cantonment.
“These 15 officers, who were attached by an order of army headquarters, have surrendered voluntarily before the International Crimes Tribunal today out of respect for the law,” the lawyer told the newspersons. “They are all senior and highly experienced officers, many of whom have served in international forces. They believe they will receive justice from this court.”
Responding to the prosecution’s earlier statement on the officers’ arrest, Sarwar Hossain clarified, “To our knowledge, they surrendered voluntarily. However, as the surrender was processed through the police, it is being described as an arrest. They were never actually arrested. The army headquarters had earlier briefed that they were under army custody.”
The officers ordered to jail are: Major General Sheikh Md Sarwar Hossain; Brigadier General Md Jahangir Alam; Brigadier General Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar; Brigadier General Md Kamrul Hasan; Brigadier General Md Mahbub Alam; Brigadier General Md Mahbubur Rahman Siddiqui; Brigadier General Ahmed Tanvir Mazhar Siddiqui; Brigadier KM Azad; Colonel Abdullah Al Momen; Colonel Anwar Latif Khan (currently on preparatory retirement leave); Lieutenant Colonel Md Mashiur Rahman; Lieutenant Colonel Saiful Islam Suman; Lieutenant Colonel Md Sarwar Bin Kashem; Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Redwanul Islam; and Major Md Rafat-bin-Alam.
On 8 October, the International Crimes Tribunal issued arrest warrants against 25 current and former army officers in connection with two cases relating to enforced disappearances and torture during the fifteen and a half years of the former Awami League government, and one case over killings during the July Uprising.
That same day, the prosecution submitted formal charges in all three cases. Subsequently, on 11 October, the Bangladesh Army announced in a press briefing that 15 of the officers had been taken into army custody.
Referring to the remaining accused, advocate Sarwar Hossain said, “These officers are brave and innocent. They are confident that they will be proven not guilty through due process. The true offenders — General Kabir, General Akbar, General Tarique Siddique, and General Mujib have fled to neighbouring India.”
The cases also name ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun as accused. Of them, Abdullah Al-Mamun is currently in custody.
Lawyer Sarwar Hossain added, “Former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun has turned approver. He has stated that everything that occurred was under the direct orders of Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan. None of the officers had any control over those events.”