The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) issued an arrest warrant against Brigadier General Miftah Uddin Ahmed, who is currently serving in the Bangladesh Army, in connection with the killing of Ekramul Haque in 2018, and he has been taken into military custody. At the time of the incident, Miftah was the commanding officer of RAB-7 in Chattogram and held the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Miftah has been arrested, and legal proceedings are underway against him, ISPR said. He was living at the Swapnachura-1 building inside Dhaka Cantonment before being shifted to the Army Headquarters Old Mess.
Background to the Ekramul Case
Ekramul Haque, a councillor from Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar, was killed in a RAB anti-narcotics operation that officials described as a gunfight. His family has said they were on a phone call with him at the time and heard the gunfire. The killing has become one of the most widely cited examples in public of alleged extra-judicial killings during Bangladesh’s campaign against narcotics.
The ICT prosecution’s chargesheet in the case has named several individuals, including former RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed, former RAB Additional Director General Md Anwar Latif Khan Tushar, former RAB Intelligence Director Md Mahbub Alam and a former DGFI officer who was posted in Teknaf at the time. The tribunal has accused the named individuals of acting individually and through a chain of command in planning and facilitating the killing, which it has labelled a crime against humanity.
Sanctions and Pre-review
Miftah’s role in the case has already attracted international attention. He was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2021 as part of a broader designation of RAB and several of its officials for human rights violations. The designation predates the current tribunal proceedings but has been used repeatedly as prosecutors have built their case.
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What’s Next
Now that Miftah is in custody, the question is what the tribunal will do next, including how it will proceed against the other named persons. This case is part of a wider set of ICT actions examining behaviour over the period, some of which have also involved senior former officials. As the tribunal process is still under way, there could be more custody orders, hearings or charge sheets in related cases.
The developments are one of the most significant strides so far in attempts to hold serving and former security officials accountable for the 2018 Teknaf killing, a case that remains a benchmark in discussions of extrajudicial violence in Bangladesh.
Timeline
- May 27, 2018: Ekramul Haque, a councillor of Teknaf municipality, killed in a “crossfire” death during a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) anti-narcotics operation.
- 2021: The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Miftah, then a RAB officer, and other RAB personnel for human rights abuses.
- New development: The ICT prosecution filed its chargesheet naming Miftah as one of the accused, after which the tribunal issued arrest warrants.
- The army detained Miftah after the chargesheet and said legal proceedings were going on.
Summary: The Bangladesh Army has taken Brigadier General Miftah Uddin Ahmed into custody after the International Crimes Tribunal named him in a chargesheet over the 2018 killing of Teknaf councillor Ekramul Haque, formally advancing a long-running crimes-against-humanity case.
