15 officers taken into custody: Army

A total of 15 army officers facing arrest warrants issued by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on charges of crimes against humanity were taken into custody on 9 October, according to the Bangladesh Army.

Apart from them, one officer, Maj Gen Kabir could not be taken into custody, Maj Gen Md Hakimuzzaman, adjutant general of the army, told the media during a briefing at Dhaka Cantonment on Saturday.

The Army Headquarters asked the authorities concerned so that Kabir cannot flee from the country.

At the briefing, Maj Gen Hakimuzzaman said they took action upon learning about the warrants, but they have yet to receive copies of those.

The army officers will be handed over to the ICT by 22 October, he added.

On 8 October, the ICT prosecution filed charges of crimes against humanity against 28 people, including 25 former and current army officers, for their alleged roles in enforced disappearances and torture in custody under their command.

The three-member ICT-1, headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder, took cognisance of four charges against the 28 accused and issued arrest warrants for all of them.

It has been learned that among the 25 army officers facing arrest warrants, nine are retired, one is on LPR (leave preparatory to retirement), and the remaining 15 are still in service.