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Published : 18 Feb 2026, 05:36 PM
Former Army officer Ziaul Ahsan, now under arrest in a crimes against humanity case, has been branded a “serial killer” by former chief of Army staff Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan during testimony before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).
Iqbal made the remark while responding to cross-examination at Tribunal-1, where he also said he had opposed Ziaul’s promotion for that very reason.
Defence lawyer Aminul Ghani Titu cross-examined him, along with Ziaul’s sister Naznin Nahar, who represented her brother at the tribunal.
Ziaul was brought to the tribunal in the morning.
The tribunal is led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder.
The other member of the tribunal was sessions judge Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.
Replying to a question, Iqbal said he opposed Ziaul’s promotion despite most of the members of the promotion board recommending it.
The defence lawyer then asked the former Army officer if he knew the number of times Ziaul was promoted during his time in office from 2012 to 2015.
Iqbal clarified only one promotion was granted, elevating the officer from lieutenant colonel to colonel.
He said officials on the promotion board supported Ziaul’s promotion to secure privileges in the days to come.
In an attempt to block the promotion, Iqbal said he told the then Maj Gen Momen that he was not in favour of the promotion, instructing the officer to raise the point at the board meeting.
The trick did not work as the majority of the board members certified Ziaul as a “good officer”, he said.
Iqbal said a promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel requires completing Staff College, which Ziaul never did.
“Moreover, he never led a battalion as a lieutenant colonel. Therefore, he was not eligible for promotion to the rank of colonel," he said.
Iqbal alleged Momen was reassigned as ambassador to Bahrain and removed from his military post soon after he raised objections regarding Ziaul's promotion.
Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam and Prosecutor Mizanul Islam were present along with other members of the prosecution panel during the cross-examination.
The prosecution completed the indictment hearing for Ziaul on Jan 4, where Tajul detailed three charges related to over 100 enforced disappearances and murders under the Awami League regime.
The first charge alleged Ziaul was physically present during the triple murder of Sajal and two others on Jul 11, 2011, in Gazipur's Pubail.
The second charge involves the murders of 50 people, including Nazrul Islam Mollick, between 2010 and 2013 at the Baleshwar River estuary in Barguna’s Patharghata.
The third count involves the deaths of 50 other people across several areas of the Sundarbans and the Baleshwar River.
Tribunal-1 accepted three allegations against Ziaul for trial on Dec 17 last year.
Ziaul last served as the director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC).
Ziaul was dismissed from service on Aug 6, 2024, following the political transition after the fall of the Awami League government the day before.
Police announced his arrest on Aug 16.
He was first shown arrested in a case filed with New Market Police Station over the murder of hawker Shahjahan during the July Uprising.
On Nov 12, the ICT granted permission to interrogate him in connection with the mass killings of July and August.
A 1991 Army commission, Ziaul was a specialised commando who rose to prominence after joining RAB-2 as a major in 2009.
After his promotion to lieutenant colonel, he headed RAB’s Intelligence Wing, a role that turned him into a well-known -- and often controversial -- public figure.
He was retained in RAB as its additional director general after being promoted to colonel in December 2013.
In 2016, he was promoted to brigadier general and appointed as a director at the National Security Intelligence.
He was made the NTMC director the next year.
He continued to lead the organisation as its director general in 2022.
The ACC has prosecuted Ziaul and his wife for allegedly possessing Tk 4.08 billion in illegal assets and engaging in suspicious financial transactions involving Tk 3.42 billion.
A Dhaka court has ordered the seizure of three flats, five houses, and nearly 13.37 hectares of land belonging to Ziaul, while also directing the freezing of nine of his bank accounts.
