Order to frame charges against Hasina, 12 army officers today

The Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) has ordered the trial of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her defense advisor Major General (retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddique and 11 former and current army officers in the case of disappearance and torture of 26 people during the Awami League regime. The judicial panel of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 is likely to give its order on Thursday (December 18). The state held a hearing for framing charges on December 7. Five specific charges were brought in the case.
In the hearing, the state said that hundreds of people were detained and tortured in the JIC cell. Abdullahil Aman Azmi, Michael Chakma and 26 others were released after torture. Sheikh Hasina used to give instructions for all disappearances. Tariq Ahmed Siddique would implement them through army officers. Later, their lawyers held a hearing seeking the acquittal of Sheikh Hasina and the rest of the accused.
Apart from Sheikh Hasina and Tariq Siddique, five former DGFI directors, five directors and a former lieutenant colonel have been named as accused in the case. However, three people have been arrested in the case. Meanwhile, the second day of arguments will be presented today against eight people, including former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Habibur Rahman, on charges of killing six people at Chankharpul in the capital during the July protests.