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Former army officer Major Sabbir has testified before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that four witnesses to the BDR massacre, including Nazrul Islam, were blindfolded, shot, had their abdomens slit open, tied to cement sacks and dumped into the Baleshwar River.
He gave the testimony on Thursday (September 17) as a witness in the enforced disappearance case against former RAB official Ziaul Ahsan.
Sabbir said the killings were carried out in May 2010 by members of the RAB-8 Intelligence Wing in the presence and on the instructions of Ziaul Ahsan, who was then head of RAB’s Intelligence Wing.
According to his testimony, the four victims were taken on a fishing trawler to the Baleshwar River near Charduani in Patharghata, Barguna, with their faces and bodies covered. They were then killed and their bodies disposed of in the river.
Sabbir also testified that another person was killed and dumped into the river using the same method in 2010.
He further said that in 2011, boatman Alkas, who had been involved in Ziaul Ahsan’s operations, was also forcibly disappeared and killed.
Several witnesses, including former army chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan and serving and former army and RAB officials, have already testified against Ziaul Ahsan in the case.
The tribunal is expected to record the testimony of the investigating officer next, after which closing arguments will be presented.
The case is reportedly the first enforced disappearance trial in 16 years to reach its final stage.
