Arguments and Testimony in Ziaul Ahsan Crimes Against Humanity Trial Expected to Conclude by October
Proceedings in the crimes against humanity case against former major general Ziaul Ahsan are projected to conclude by October
The International Crimes Tribunal trial of retired Major General Ziaul Ahsan, facing charges of crimes against humanity including more than a hundred enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, is projected to conclude its witness testimonies and legal arguments by October. Tribunal Prosecutor Mizanul Islam disclosed the timeline to media personnel on Sunday following the cross-examination of the thirteenth witness, retired Major Sabbir Rahman Osmani, at the tribunal premises in Dhaka.
Prosecutor Islam stated that the prosecution expects the investigation officer to testify as the fifteenth witness. Upon the completion of the investigator's testimony, the defense will be afforded the opportunity to present its own witnesses, with two names having been submitted thus far. Maintaining that the proceedings are advancing at a steady pace, the prosecutor asserted that sufficient evidence has been brought forward to substantiate the allegations leveled against the former military official.
Conversely, the defense has vehemently contested the prosecution's claims. Speaking to journalists at the tribunal premises, Naznin Nahar, the defense counsel and sister of the accused, accused the prosecution of relying on coercion rather than substantive evidence. She claimed that her brother has been selectively targeted and alleged that following his arrest, pressure was exerted upon him to provide a deposition implicating former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. According to the defense, his refusal to comply precipitated the ongoing legal action.
In a separate development concerning tribunal-linked defendants, a formal petition was lodged on Monday with International Crimes Tribunal-2 seeking an impartial judicial inquiry into the alleged physical assault of dismissed Lieutenant Colonel Tareq Saeed Mohammad while incarcerated in Munshiganj District Jail. The petition, filed by defense counsel Mahmudul Hossain, also requests court directives to ensure proper medical treatment for the former Rapid Action Battalion officer and demands an independent physical evaluation at a government hospital to assess his condition.
Lawyer Mahmudul Hossain informed reporters outside the tribunal that the assault allegedly occurred late at night on September 16, when prison guards reportedly severed electricity to the facility before subjecting Tareq Saeed to severe physical abuse.
