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International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam has said that Tarique Rahman, now the prime minister, was detained and subjected to torture in a cell at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) during the 1/11 period.
He made the remarks on Saturday afternoon after inspecting the JIC, located at the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) headquarters.
Referring to the findings of the tribunal’s investigation, Aminul said Tarique Rahman was brought to one of the rooms at the JIC during the 1/11 period and allegedly subjected to torture there.
“This information has also emerged from the accounts of various witnesses during our investigation,” he told reporters.
The chief prosecutor said the inspection was part of the tribunal’s investigation into the facility, popularly known as “Aynaghar”, where people were allegedly detained and subjected to torture and other forms of abuse.
“The JIC was a place where people were brought, detained and subjected to torture and abuse. Through today’s inspection, we were able to get a partial sense of the brutality that took place here,” he said.
Aminul also alleged that significant evidence and other materials at the JIC had been destroyed after August 5, potentially affecting efforts to establish what happened at the facility.
He said examining the current condition of the site and identifying surviving evidence and other relevant information were important for ensuring justice.
“Inspecting the scene, understanding its present condition and identifying the evidence and information that remain there are important in the interest of justice,” he said.
The chief prosecutor stressed that anyone accused of committing a crime must be brought under the law and face trial through due legal process.
“Certainly, if any citizen of Bangladesh commits a crime, they must be brought under the law and face trial. But no one should become a victim of extrajudicial killing or be subjected to unnecessary harassment by law enforcement agencies,” he said.
He said the tribunal’s inspection of the JIC would contribute to efforts to establish accountability and ensure justice in cases involving alleged detention, torture and other abuses.
The JIC, which has been widely referred to as an “Aynaghar” or secret detention facility, has come under increased scrutiny over allegations of enforced disappearances and torture allegedly carried out during previous governments.
The latest inspection forms part of the tribunal’s efforts to examine physical locations and available evidence relevant to allegations of abuses committed at such facilities.