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Published : 24 Oct 2025, 01:46 PM
Lawyer M Sarwar Hossain has announced that he will no longer be representing the 15 Army officers detained in three cases over crimes against humanity at the International Crimes Tribunal.
He spoke to the media on the matter on Thursday.
The 15 Army officers are facing trials at the ICT on charges including enforced disappearances and murders committed in the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cells and Joint Interrogation Cells (JIC) under the Awami League government.
Sarwar represented the officers during the hearing at the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Oct 22.
He told reporters that he had already filed a complaint regarding enforced disappearance with the tribunal. One of the accused in that complaint is among the 15 arrested Army officers. Therefore, he said he cannot represent the 15 Army officers out of moral obligation. The bar association regulations do not support it either, he said.
Supreme Court lawyer Sarwar had earlier filed a complaint against three former Army officers, including former Army chief retired general SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, at the ICT and also at the Commission on Enforced Disappearances. One of the three suspects named in that complaint is among of the 15 Army officers now arrested.
"I had earlier filed a complaint with the tribunal and the Commission on Enforced Disappearances against three people, including former Army chief Gen Shafiuddin. One of the three accused there is the former DG of DGFI, retired lieutenant
general Akbar. Hence, I cannot represent them (the 15 accused Army officers) in the case due to professional ethics.”
On Oct 8, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 issued arrest warrants against 30 people, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Two cases involve incidents of enforced disappearance, torture, and detention in the Rapid Action Battalion's Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) and the Army’s Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) facilities during the tenure of the ousted Awami League regime.
Seventeen people have been charged in the TFI cell case while 13 have been accused in the JIC cell case, including former and current Army officers.
After the tribunal issued an arrest warrant in the case, the detainees were produced before the tribunal on Oct 22. They were then sent to jail by court order.
The Army Headquarters issued a notice declaring a building in the Dhaka Cantonment a temporary jail on Oct 11.
The Army officers are being kept in the temporary jail, said Sarwar.
