Tribunal Sets January 25 for Investigation Report in Elias Ali Disappearance Case

A court has directed that the investigation report be submitted on January 25 in the crimes against humanity case over the abduction and enforced disappearance of missing BNP leader M Elias Ali. It marks fresh progress in the trial process of a disappearance case that has been widely discussed in the country's politics.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 passed the order on Sunday (October 25) following a time petition by the prosecution. Prosecutor Zahirul Amin took part in the hearing on behalf of the prosecution. He applied for three more months to submit the investigation report.

On the day, accused Air Force Wing Commander Saifur Rahman Saif was produced before the court. The other accused, former army officer Ziaul Ahsan, appeared virtually. The time petition was heard in the presence of both accused.

The incident dates back a long way. On the night of April 17, 2012, Elias Ali, then organising secretary of the BNP, and his driver were picked up from the Banani area of the capital. Neither of them was ever traced again.

The case gained new momentum this year. On August 9, the International Crimes Tribunal issued an arrest warrant against Saifur Rahman in the crimes against humanity case over the abduction and disappearance of Elias Ali. When he was produced before the tribunal on August 23, the court ordered him to be sent to jail.

Saifur Rahman's name surfaced through testimony in another case. In the crimes against humanity case against former army officer Ziaul Ahsan over more than a hundred disappearances and killings, Army Warrant Officer Imrul Kayes, in his deposition, named Saifur Rahman on June 21 in connection with the disappearance and killing of Elias Ali.

After that, on the night of July 26, the special military police branch (Provost) detained him from his home. He was later kept in custody in the force's special cell. It was after this detention that the successive steps of the warrant against him and his being sent to jail moved forward.

According to prosecution sources, the investigation is under way in the crimes against humanity case filed over the disappearance of BNP leader Elias Ali in April 2012. Investigators say the direct involvement of Air Force officer Wing Commander Saifur Rahman has already been found in the incident.

Not only Saifur Rahman — the roles of others, including retired Lieutenant General Sheikh Mamun Khaled, in the incident are also being investigated. That is why the prosecution sought three more months, saying the investigation needs more time to be completed.

BNP leaders allege that Elias Ali was 'disappeared' on the instructions of people concerned in the then Awami League government. The prosecution claims that RAB's intelligence wing was directly involved. Saifur Rahman, then a squadron leader of the Air Force, was serving in RAB's intelligence wing at that time.

For more than a decade, Elias Ali's family and party have been waiting to learn what happened to him. Those concerned believe that once the investigation report is submitted, the trial process will move another step closer to answering that question.

The investigation report is scheduled to be submitted to Tribunal-1 on the fixed date of January 25. If it is filed that day, the next stages of the case, including the framing of charges, will begin; if more time is granted, the wait will grow longer still for Elias Ali's family.