Hasina neither ordered enforced disappearances nor knew if any occurred: Defence lawyer

State-appointed defence lawyer Md Amir Hossain told the tribunal that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina did not order any enforced disappearances or abductions during the previous Awami League government.

The lawyer also claimed that Hasina was not even aware of whether any enforced disappearance had taken place in the country.

Amir Hossain made the remarks while seeking discharge from the charges in a crimes against humanity case filed against Hasina and 17 others over allegations of enforced disappearance and abduction at the Rapid Action Battalion's Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) cell, during a hearing at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) today (14 December).

In the case, Tribunal-1 fixed 21 December for passing an order on whether charges will be framed against Hasina and 17 others, including former and serving army officers.

During the hearing, Amir Hossain said the prosecution had portrayed Sheikh Hasina as "the mother of all crimes" and the source of all offences, claiming that all enforced disappearances were carried out on her orders and that, in some cases, she had issued direct instructions.

"However, the prosecution has failed to produce any written evidence in support of these allegations," he said, adding that his client had never ordered any enforced disappearance or abduction.

"She did not even know whether any enforced disappearance had taken place in the country," the lawyer claimed.

At this point, the tribunal asked whether she, as the chief executive, could evade responsibility.

In response, the defence lawyer said that numerous crimes or incidents occur in a country and it is not possible for everything to be within the knowledge of the head of government.

He further claimed that no such incidents of enforced disappearance or torture had taken place and that the allegations were propaganda, as the prosecution had failed to produce any documentary evidence.

"Therefore, my client should be discharged from the formal charges in this case," he said.

In this case, 10 former army officers currently under arrest were produced before the tribunal from a temporary jail at Dhaka Cantonment ahead of the hearing.