Arrest warrant issued for Air Force officer over Ilias Ali disappearance
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Sunday issued an arrest warrant for Bangladesh Air Force Wing Commander Saifur Rahman Saif over his alleged involvement in the 2012 enforced disappearance of BNP leader and former lawmaker M Ilias Ali.
A three-member bench headed by tribunal Chairman Justice Golam Mortuza Mozumder issued the warrant on August 9 following an application from the prosecution, which said investigators had found evidence linking Saifur directly to the disappearance.
Ilias Ali, then an organising secretary of the BNP and a former MP, disappeared along with his driver, Ansar Ali, on the night of April 17, 2012. Police later found his abandoned vehicle in Dhaka's Banani area. Neither man has been found since.
Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim said the tribunal's investigation into alleged crimes against humanity surrounding the disappearance remains underway.
According to the prosecution, investigators have obtained evidence of Saifur's direct involvement in the incident. His name had also surfaced on June 22 in testimony given before the tribunal by an army officer in connection with the case.
Following that testimony and subsequent findings by investigators, prosecutors sought an order to formally show Saifur arrested in the case. The tribunal granted the application after reviewing the evidence presented before it.
Saifur is already in military custody.
He was recently detained from his residence by the military police's Provost branch as part of an internal disciplinary process and is now being held in a special Air Force cell, according to information presented in connection with the case.
Lawyers said Saifur is expected to be produced formally before the tribunal and shown arrested in the Ilias Ali disappearance case.
Ilias was a prominent BNP politician and one of the leading coordinators and public faces of the movement against India's proposed Tipaimukh dam at the time of his disappearance.
His family and the BNP had long alleged that members of state security agencies were responsible for taking him and his driver. The government at the time repeatedly denied allegations of enforced disappearance.
The case has received renewed attention as the International Crimes Tribunal investigates alleged enforced disappearances committed during the previous government, with several former and serving military and civilian officials coming under scrutiny.
Former military intelligence official Ziaul Ahsan's name has also surfaced in connection with allegations surrounding Ilias Ali's disappearance and alleged killing.