‘Killings, staged probes and falsified post-mortems’: Witness recounts Major General Zia’s chokehold on justice system

“Whenever an extrajudicial killing came to public attention, a staged administrative investigation would be arranged to give it legitimacy. This controlled system was used to keep the actual perpetrators hidden.”

These were the words of Investigation Officer (IO) Md Rafiqul Islam before the single-member bench of International Crimes Tribunal-1, presided over by Judge Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury, yesterday, as he described Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan's grip on the justice system.

On the third day of testimony, Rafiqul, the 15th witness, recounted how doctors were forced to conceal the actual causes of victims’ deaths following extrajudicial killings.

An institutional culture had been created to protect the perpetrators by preparing fabricated and false post-mortem and police reports, he said.

Earlier, during the testimony process that began on September 30, the IO presented various sensational pieces of information and evidence from the case, as well as details of visits to the crime scenes.

On September 27, the 14th witness, Kamrul Islam, testified and presented before the tribunal details of evidence seized from various locations.

On the same day, the cross-examination of the 13th witness, former RAB officer Major (retd) Sabbir Rahman, was completed.

Three specific charges in the dock

Three specific charges of crimes against humanity have been brought against Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan.

The first charge involves the cold-blooded killing of three people beside a road in Pubail, Gazipur Sadar police station area, on the night of July 11, 2011, in the direct presence of Ziaul Ahsan.

The second charge is the killing of a total of 50 people at the mouth of the Baleshwar River adjoining Char Duani Union in Patharghata upazila of Barguna, from 2010 to 2013.

The third charge spans the same period (2010–2013), when another 50 people were killed under the guise of so-called “suppression of forest bandits” in various areas of the Sundarbans along the Baleshwar River in Barguna and in Sharankhola of Bagerhat.

On December 17 last year, the prosecution submitted the formal charge against Ziaul, and the tribunal took cognisance of it.

Subsequently, on December 23, the tribunal ordered that he be shown arrested in the case and sent to jail.

The ICT has scheduled next Sunday (October 11) for the continuation of testimony in the case, following which the remaining testimony will be taken.