Tribunal rejects Army officers' plea to appear virtually

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has rejected the request for Army officers arrested in a case over crimes against humanity for enforced disappearances and torture in Task Force Interrogation (TFI) cells during the Awami League government to attend hearings virtually, reports bdnews24.com.

Tribunal-1 made the decision on Wednesday after hearing the request of a lawyer representing the Army officers. The hearing of the petition for the dropping of the accused from the case has been set for Dec 14.

The charge sheet in the case was to be heard on Wednesday. Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam read out the charges on behalf of the prosecution. Then, Advocate Tabarak Hossain represented the defence.

Later, Chief Prosecutor Tajul said that the defence's virtual appearance request has been rejected and the officers would have to be physically present for the hearings.