Prosecution Files Charges Against Ex-RAB Officer Ziaul Ahsan

The prosecution has formally filed three charges of crimes against humanity against Major General (Retd.) Ziaul Ahsan, accusing him of involvement in more than 300 enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings during the tenure of the Awami League government.

A three-member panel of the International Crimes Tribunal–1, led by Justice Golam Motuza Mozumder, on Wednesday took cognisance of the charges and scheduled 21 December for a hearing on the framing of charges.

According to the prosecution, Ziaul Ahsan, after being posted to the intelligence wing of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in 2009, rose rapidly within the security establishment and became a trusted figure of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He remained seconded to agencies under the Ministry of Home Affairs until his mandatory retirement as a Major General in 2024, without returning to regular army service.

The charge sheet alleges that Ziaul Ahsan was promoted to the rank of Major General without completing required military courses or holding command positions at battalion, brigade, or formation level—an unprecedented development in the Bangladesh Army’s history. Between 2009 and 2016, while serving as Director of RAB Intelligence and Additional Director General (Operations), he allegedly either directly participated in, or authorised, approved, and knowingly facilitated numerous enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

Allegations:

Gazipur killings (2011):

The prosecution alleges that on the night of 11 July 2011, Ziaul Ahsan and his team illegally detained several individuals, including a man identified as Sajol, and transported them from RAB headquarters toward Gazipur. The detainees were allegedly shot dead at multiple locations along the Dhaka Bypass Road while blindfolded and handcuffed. Prosecutors claim Ziaul Ahsan personally fired on some of the victims. Bodies were later dumped beside roads and in canals.

Barguna river killings:

According to the charge sheet, the Baleshwar River and adjacent areas in Patharghata, Barguna, were used as execution sites. Detainees were allegedly taken by boat into the river at night, shot after their heads or chests were pressed with pillows, and then weighted with cement blocks before being dumped into the water. Prosecutors claim at least 50 people, including former BDR members, were killed using this method under operations allegedly code-named “Gestapo” or “Golf.”

Sundarbans operations:

The prosecution also alleges that under the guise of anti-piracy operations in the Sundarbans, previously detained individuals were portrayed as forest pirates and killed in staged “crossfire” incidents. Operations such as Nishankhali, Mra Bhola, and Kotka allegedly resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people, with Ziaul Ahsan personally present during some operations.

Ongoing Investigations

Investigators are also examining allegations that around 200 people were killed in the Buriganga and Shitalakkhya rivers between 2010 and 2013. Additional probes concern the enforced disappearance of several prominent political figures and the killing of at least 61 unarmed civilians during the crackdown on a Hefazat-e-Islam rally in Dhaka on 5 May 2013.

Speaking to reporters, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam said the three charges currently before the tribunal represent only a portion of the allegations, adding that evidence indicates Ziaul Ahsan’s involvement in the enforced disappearance and killing of more than 300 people. Further investigations are ongoing.

Ziaul Ahsan was arrested after 5 August last year from the Khilkhet area of Dhaka. At the time of his arrest, he was serving as Director General of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC). He remains in custody