International Crimes Tribunal-1 orders production of accused in Salahuddin Ahmed Disappearance Case
The International Crimes Tribunal has ordered the production of former Army officer Ziaul Ahsan before the tribunal in connection with a case concerning the alleged enforced disappearance of BNP leader and current Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed in 2015.
A three-member bench of International Crimes Tribunal-1 passed the order on Monday, August 10, directing that Ziaul Ahsan be produced before the tribunal on August 27. The order followed an application by the prosecution seeking a production warrant so that he could be shown arrested in the case.
Prosecutor Shyikh Mahdi told the media that the prosecution had filed the application on August 6 seeking Ziaul Ahsan’s production and arrest in the case. The tribunal subsequently allowed the application and fixed August 27 for his appearance. The prosecution is expected to seek his formal arrest in the case when he is produced before the tribunal.
The case concerns the alleged disappearance and subsequent detention of Salahuddin Ahmed, who was reportedly taken from a house in Uttara, Dhaka, on the night of March 10, 2015, by individuals identifying themselves as members of the Detective Branch. He was later found in Shillong, India, on May 11 of that year. He returned to Bangladesh in August 2024.
According to the prosecution, an investigation has found the alleged involvement of several senior officials in the disappearance, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and Ziaul Ahsan, along with other senior officials of the Rapid Action Battalion and police.
A complaint concerning Salahuddin Ahmed’s alleged disappearance was submitted to the Office of the Chief Prosecutor on June 19. The case has subsequently been registered as Case No. 03 of 2026, with Ziaul Ahsan among the accused.
Ziaul Ahsan, a former Director General of the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre, is currently in custody in connection with several other cases involving alleged crimes against humanity.
Meanwhile, the tribunal also passed orders concerning other former RAB officials in separate enforced-disappearance cases. In a case concerning the alleged disappearance of student Md Zaker Hossain from Dhaka’s Adabor area, Tribunal-1 ordered the production of former RAB Additional Director General (Operations) Col Abdullah Al-Momen on August 27. Momen is already in custody in another case relating to the Task Force Interrogation (TFI) Centre, commonly referred to as “Aynaghar.”
In a separate proceeding before Tribunal-2, former RAB-11 commanding officer Lt Col Tarek Sayeed and Ziaul Ahsan were shown arrested in connection with allegations surrounding the disappearance of former Cumilla MP and Laksam BNP leader Saiful Islam Hiru and Laksam municipal BNP leader Humayun Kabir Parvez. The two men have reportedly remained missing.
The latest orders mark another development in the tribunal’s proceedings concerning allegations of enforced disappearance involving former senior officials of the security forces.
Relevant news reports in this regard are as follows:
Daily Amar Desh – https://www.dailyamardesh.com/court-law/amd7m2ig4nmh8
bdnews24 – https://bangla.bdnews24.com/bangladesh/ab00d422bf8d
Daily Somoyer Alo – https://www.shomoyeralo.com/news/377517
NTV Online – https://www.ntvbd.com/bangladesh/news-1785657?amp