Retired Major Muzaffar Hossain, a convicted accused in the assassination case of former President Ziaur Rahman, has been produced before Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in connection with allegations of crimes against humanity.
Muzaffar appeared before the tribunal’s second bench on Thursday morning, where a judicial panel headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury was due to consider the prosecution’s application.
Prosecutors said, "The tribunal had earlier issued a production warrant after receiving allegations linking Muzaffar to crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the tenure of the Awami League government. Acting on that order, the authorities presented him before the court on Thursday.”
The prosecution informed the tribunal that it would seek an order formally showing Muzaffar arrested in the case before requesting permission to question him as part of the ongoing investigation.
The application for the production warrant was submitted on 21 July. Prosecutors noted that Muzaffar is already one of the convicted accused in the long-running case over the assassination of former President Ziaur Rahman.
He was arrested from a residence in Dhaka’s Banani area on the night of 15 July after remaining at large for almost 45 years. The following day, he was handed over to the military police at Dhaka Cantonment.
In a related development, retired Lieutenant General Masud Uddin Chowdhury was also brought before the same tribunal on Thursday.
The prosecution had been expected to submit its investigation report against Masud on 21 July in a separate crime against humanity case linked to the July 2024 mass uprising in Feni.
Instead, prosecutors requested an additional two months to complete their investigation.
The tribunal did not fix a fresh deadline for submitting the report. It said, “There were allegations suggesting a connection between Masud and Muzaffar and ordered that Masud also be produced before the court.”
The tribunal is expected to decide on the prosecution’s applications as the investigations into the allegations continue.
