‘Blindfolded, shot and dumped in river’: Ex-army officer testifies Ziaul ordered four BDR witnesses killed

A former army officer on Thursday testified before the International Crimes Tribunal that four witnesses to the BDR killings, including former BDR member Nazrul Islam, were abducted, blindfolded, shot and dumped in the Baleshwar River in Barguna after cement bags were tied to their bodies.

Major Sabbir made the allegation while testifying in a case concerning enforced disappearance as crimes against humanity.

The sole accused in the case is retired Major General Ziaul Ahsan, former head of the intelligence wing of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and former director general of the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC).

According to Sabbir's testimony, the four men were taken aboard a fishing trawler to the Baleshwar River near Char Duani in Patharghata in May 2010. He told the tribunal that their faces and bodies were covered.

He said the victims were blindfolded and shot before their abdomens were slit. Heavy cement bags were then tied to their bodies before they were thrown into the river to prevent them from resurfacing.

Sabbir added that members of the intelligence wing of RAB-8 carried out the operation in the presence of, and on the instructions of, Ziaul, who was then heading the RAB intelligence wing.

He further testified that another person was killed and dumped in the river in a similar manner in 2010.

Sabbir also alleged that Alkas Majhi, a boatman who was involved in Ziaul's alleged secret “Golf Operation” in 2011, was abducted and killed in a similar manner.

The case is one of the significant proceedings arising from allegations of enforced disappearances over the past 16 years.

Several witnesses, including former army chief General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, military and RAB officials, eyewitnesses and victims, have previously testified in the case.

The prosecution said the investigation officer would testify after the remaining eyewitnesses complete their depositions.

Final arguments will begin following the investigation officer's testimony, bringing the trial closer to its conclusion.