Overview
- Fifteen serving officers were produced from military custody in Dhaka and sent to jail after denying the complaints, with bail petitions filed and the next hearing set for November 5.
- The prosecution has lodged two cases alleging crimes against humanity tied to secret detention at the TFI cell and DGFI’s Joint Interrogation Cell, each carrying five charges.
- Arrest warrants remain active for Sheikh Hasina and other absconding accused, while one of the 16 initially named serving officers is still at large.
- The army previously kept the officers in military custody and says it will assist the judicial process, even as the use of a civilian tribunal for serving personnel has prompted institutional unease.
- UN human rights chief Volker Türk called the court process an important step toward accountability, with observers noting this is the first time formal charges for enforced disappearances have been brought in Bangladesh.