Home minister Salahuddin was held at alleged RAB ‘Aynaghar’, ICT chief prosecutor

BNP leader and current Home Affairs Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, who resurfaced in India after disappearing in 2015, was among those detained at the alleged Rapid Action Battalion-run detention facility known as the "Aynaghar" in Uttara of Dhaka, said Mohammad Aminul Islam, chief prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

He made the remarks today (1 August) while inspecting the alleged detention cell, which prosecutors allege was used to secretly detain and torture people during the Awami League's past regime.

Judges of the ICT-1 also inspected the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell inside the RAB-1 headquarters in Uttara as part of the tribunal's ongoing crimes against humanity trial over alleged enforced disappearances and torture.

The team was led by ICT-1 Chairman Justice Golam Mortuza Majumder, accompanied by tribunal members, prosecutors, defence lawyers, investigators, human rights activist Nur Khan Liton, Mayer Dak coordinator and reserved-seat MP Sanzida Tuli, and journalists.

Aminul Islam said the tribunal approved the site visit following a petition filed on 21 July, stressing that judicial inspections are an important part of assessing evidence alongside witness testimony and documents.

Describing the facility as a "brutal torture cell," Aminul said investigators found 29 rooms of different sizes, including a tiny basement chamber where, he claimed, "a normal adult could not even lie down fully."

According to evidence presented in court, detainees were allegedly held blindfolded and handcuffed for days, months or even years while being tortured.

Some detainees, he said, were later shown arrested in criminal cases, while others were allegedly killed or remain missing. More than 250 victims of enforced disappearance, including former BNP leader M Ilias Ali, are still unaccounted for.

Aminul argued that authorities violated constitutional safeguards by failing to produce detainees before a magistrate within 24 hours or inform their families, actions he said amounted to crimes against humanity.

He also alleged that evidence had been concealed by constructing walls inside the building and said investigators are examining those responsible for destroying or hiding evidence.

Defence lawyers strongly disputed the prosecution's claims.

Tabarak Hossain, representing seven former RAB officials on trial, argued that the TFI referred to an inter-agency task force rather than a specific building, with RAB serving mainly as its secretariat.

He also maintained that formal charge documents showed detainees had been handed over to law enforcement or produced before courts within the required 24 hours.

Tabarak e said allegations of torture and unlawful detention must be proven during the trial and argued that small detention rooms are common in security facilities for temporary custody.

Another defence lawyer, ABM Hamidul Mesbah, said even if detainees were not produced before a court within 24 hours, such actions could constitute departmental misconduct rather than crimes against humanity.

He also questioned whether the inspected premises matched descriptions given by alleged victims.

State-appointed lawyer Amir Hossain, representing absconding accused, likewise expressed doubts that the inspected building was the alleged "Aynaghar," suggesting it may have been constructed later.

The tribunal is hearing testimony against 17 accused, including 12 serving and former military officers, over allegations of enforced disappearances and torture at the TFI facility. Proceedings began on 23 December last year.

According to the chief prosecutor, the tribunal is scheduled to inspect another alleged secret detention facility at the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence headquarters in Dhaka Cantonment next Saturday.