Outgoing ICT Chief Prosecutor Denies Allegations, Calls Claims ‘Baseless and Malicious’

In a statement sent to the media on Tuesday, Tajul Islam said the accusations brought against him are “completely false and baseless.” He challenged anyone to provide even minimal evidence in support of the claims.

Following the fall of the Bangladesh Awami League government, Tajul Islam had been serving as Chief Prosecutor of the reconstituted tribunal. However, after the formation of a government led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), he was removed from his post on Monday and replaced by Aminul Islam.

Shortly after his removal, another prosecutor, B M Sultan Mahmud, alleged that Tajul Islam and prosecutor Gazi M H Tamim had accepted financial benefits in exchange for turning former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun and former Ashulia Police Station Sub-Inspector Sheikh Abzalul Haque into state witnesses.

In his statement, Tajul Islam said that on Monday and Tuesday, certain media outlets and social media platforms circulated “malicious and false information” about him, citing a prosecutor of the tribunal. He described the allegations as “blatant lies, devoid of evidence,” and claimed they were made with ill intent to cast doubt on the tribunal’s proceedings.

“I challenge anyone to present even the slightest evidence in support of the allegations brought against me,” he said. “Every step taken by me and the prosecution team at the International Crimes Tribunal was transparent and lawful.”

Tajul Islam further alleged that a vested group was orchestrating a smear campaign to divert attention from the concluded and ongoing trials of what he termed “fallen autocrats and perpetrators of genocide,” and to obstruct the progress of justice.

He added that no one had raised any questions about his conduct during his tenure. “Now that I have stepped down, a particular quarter is attempting to question the judicial process by raising baseless allegations in order to benefit perpetrators of genocide,” he said.

Tajul Islam urged all concerned to refrain from spreading misinformation and engaging in what he called “malicious and disgraceful activities” aimed at undermining the tribunal’s work.