Published : 23 Aug 2026, 05:05 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:35 AM
Bangladesh Air Force Wing Commander Saifur Rahman has been produced before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in a crimes against humanity case over the enforced disappearance of BNP leader Ilias Ali.
He was brought to the tribunal in a microbus on Sunday morning.
Tribunal-1 had issued an arrest warrant for Saifur on Aug 9 following an application from the prosecution.
His name first surfaced in the case on Jun 21 during testimony by Army Warrant Officer Imrul Kayes in proceedings concerning more than 100 alleged incidents of enforced disappearance and killing.
Saifur was mentioned in connection with the disappearance and alleged killing of Ilias Ali.
Subsequently, on Jul 26, the Special Military Police Branch (Provost) detained Saifur from his residence and placed him in the custody of a special cell of the military.
Ilias, then a BNP organising secretary, and his driver were picked up from Dhaka’s Banani area late on Apr 17, 2012. They have not been seen since.
BNP leaders have alleged that Ilias was forcibly disappeared on the orders of individuals associated with the government at the time. According to the prosecution, the intelligence wing of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) was directly involved in the incident.
At the time of Ilias’s disappearance, Saifur, then a squadron leader in the Air Force, was serving in RAB’s intelligence wing.
Most recently, Saifur was serving as deputy director of the Directorate of Air Training at the Air Force Headquarters.
ICT Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Aminul Islam told bdnews24.com on Aug 9 that preliminary investigations and witness testimony had produced evidence of Saifur’s direct involvement in the alleged abduction of Ilias. Investigations are also under way into the roles of others allegedly involved in the incident, including retired lieutenant general Sheikh Mamun Khaled.
