Three judges of the International Crimes Tribunal will inspect the “Aynaghar” — secret detention centers where people subjected to enforced disappearance were held during the ousted Awami League government. International Crimes Tribunal-1 gave its consent on Tuesday, following a prosecution application to inspect these centers run by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB).
The three judges are Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder, Justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud and Judge Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.
After the hearing, Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam explained the background of the application to reporters. He said that in many enforced-disappearance cases during the past autocratic rule, victims were held at secret sites known as “Aynaghar,” also called JIC or TFI.
Naming the specific sites, he said the tribunal was asked to inspect a center at the DGFI complex inside the cantonment, a TFI cell of RAB-1, and a detention facility at the DB office, among others.
On the legal basis for site inspection, the chief prosecutor cited domestic and international precedent, saying Section 539-B of the country’s law and Rules 7 and 73 of the Rome Statute provide for judges to inspect crime scenes in the interest of a case. Judges at the Rwanda and Yugoslavia tribunals had earlier inspected sites and used the findings as memoranda in judicial proceedings.
The chief prosecutor added that the tribunal had granted the application and the judges would set a date to visit the detention sites. The parties concerned would be notified beforehand, and if the defense wished, the inspection would be carried out jointly with them.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report