Trial of Ziaul Ahsan begins: Former Army Chief testifies as prosecution witness

Witness testimony has begun in the crimes against humanity case against retired Major General Ziaul Ahsan, a former army officer accused of involvement in more than one hundred enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the tenure of the Awami League government.

On Sunday, 8 February, the first day of testimony was held before the International Crimes Tribunal-1. The hearing was conducted by a two-member judicial panel headed by Chairman Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder, with Justice Md. Shafiul Alam Mahmood is the other member.

Former Chief of Army Staff (Retd.) General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan appeared as the prosecution’s first witness. Following the prosecution’s opening statement by Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim, General Bhuiyan testified on the emergence of enforced disappearances and killings within the military and shared his experiences relating to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). As his deposition remained incomplete, the Tribunal adjourned the hearing to Monday, 9 February.

The accused, Ziaul Ahsan, was produced before the Tribunal under prison escort. The prosecution was represented by Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam, along with Prosecutors Mizanul Islam and Barrister Shyikh Mahdi. The defence was represented by advocates Mansurul Haque Chowdhury and Nazneen Nahar.

Earlier, on 14 January, the Tribunal framed three charges against Ziaul Ahsan and ordered the commencement of trial proceedings. The charges include the killing of three individuals, including Sajol, in Gazipur in July 2011; the killing of 50 individuals at the Baleshwar River estuary in Barguna between 2010 and 2013; and a further charge involving the killing of an additional 50 persons.

Ziaul Ahsan was shown as arrested in the case on 23 December 2024. With the start of witness testimony, proceedings in this high-profile case have formally entered the evidentiary phase.

Relevant news reports in this regard are as follows:-

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