ICT Tribunal orders treatment for Tareque Sayeed over alleged jail torture

The International Crimes (ICT) Tribunal has directed the prison authorities to ensure proper medical treatment for Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, an accused in a case involving crimes against humanity.

The Tribunal-2 issued the order today after hearing a petition filed by Tareque Sayeed.

His lawyer, Mahmudul Hossain Rubel, alleged that prison guards assaulted the former army officer at Munshiganj Jail late at night and sought a neutral judicial inquiry into the incident, along with proper medical treatment.

However, Mahmudul Hossain withdrew the request for a judicial inquiry, saying it had not been filed through the proper procedure.

Addressing the tribunal, he said several prison guards launched a sudden attack on Tareque Sayeed with sticks at Munshiganj Jail late on 16 September. He said Tareque suffered a head injury after being struck with sticks and was also severely assaulted on different parts of his body.

“We have learned that the attack was carried out on the orders of the jail superintendent,” he told the tribunal.

He sought an investigation into the incident and proper treatment for Tareque Sayeed at Bangladesh Medical University or Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Prosecutor Zahirul Amin told the tribunal that Tareque Sayeed, who was sentenced to death in the Narayanganj seven-murder case, is supposed to be kept in a condemned cell.

“Usually, we do not object if an accused or defendant in a crimes-against-humanity case falls ill. Such facilities are provided on humanitarian grounds,” he added.

However, Zahirul Amin pointed out that Wednesday was a scheduled hearing date in the case against Tareque Sayeed and that he had appeared in the dock without complaining of any physical illness.

“He appeared quite fit,” the prosecutor said.

The tribunal then asked the defence lawyer why the petition had not mentioned Tareque Sayeed’s death sentence or his status as a condemned-cell prisoner.

Mahmudul Hossain replied that Tareque had been kept in a general ward of the prison for a long time. He also alleged that following the attack at Munshiganj Jail, Tareque was transferred to Kishoreganj Jail without being provided with any medical certificate, although such a certificate is required when a prisoner is transferred from one jail to another.

After hearing both sides, the tribunal directed the prison authorities to provide Tareque Sayeed with medical treatment in accordance with prison rules.

Speaking to journalists afterwards, Mahmudul Hossain said that when Tareque was produced before the tribunal again on 16 September, the prosecution sought and received permission for one day of interrogation. Later that night, several prison guards allegedly attacked him at Munshiganj Jail.

“The electricity supply was also disconnected during the attack,” he said.

Meanwhile, Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan has also been named as an accused in two separate crimes-against-humanity cases over the alleged enforced disappearances and killings of BNP leaders in Cumilla and Lakshmipur.

The prosecution, which was due to submit its investigation reports on 29 September, sought two more months. The tribunal set 30 November as the new deadline.

According to the prosecution, BNP leaders Abdul Mannan, Zahirul Islam Suman and Asaduzzaman Babul were killed in a staged “gunfight” in Lakshmipur on 15 December 2013, while Saiful Islam Hiru and Humayun Kabir Parvez were allegedly disappeared from Laksam, Cumilla on 27 November that year