Major General (Retd.) Ziaul Ahsan, the former director-general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), has refuted claims of his association with the secret detention facility known as "Aynaghar".
He made the statement while being presented before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Wednesday (20 November).
Speaking to journalists from within the prison van en route back to jail, Ziaul Ahsan categorically stated, “I have no ties to Aynaghar.”
Earlier in the day, at 10:15am, eight senior officials were brought before the tribunal located at the High Court premises.
The detainees include former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, former NTMC chief Major General (Retd.) Ziaul Ahsan, former Dhaka District Superintendent of Police Md Abdullah Al Kafi, former Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Md Jasim Uddin Molla, former Additional Superintendent of Police (Savar Circle) Md Shahidur Islam, former Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Jatrabari Police Station Abul Hasan, former OC of Gulshan Police Station Mazharul Haque, and former Detective Branch Inspector (Dhaka North) Md Arafat Hossain.
The presentation of the eight accused follows an order issued on 27 October by a three-member tribunal chaired by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumdar, granting the prosecution’s application to summon them.
Since the ousting of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on 5 August, these officials had been in hiding. Over time, they were apprehended, and as per the tribunal’s instructions, were produced in court today.
Six of the detainees were transported from Kashimpur Jail, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun and former NTMC Director-General Ziaul Ahsan were brought from Keraniganj Jail.
The case has garnered significant public and media attention, particularly given the allegations surrounding the controversial ‘Aynaghar’ detention facility, often described as a clandestine centre of extrajudicial confinement.
