The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Monday directed the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to verify the authenticity of some "important" voice recordings of Sheikh Hasina and her close associates from the time of the July-August mass uprising.
The three-member bench, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar, chairman of the ICT, passed the order.
The other two on the bench were Justice Md Shofiul Alam Mahmood and Judge M Mohitul Hoque Anam Chowdhury.
Earlier in the morning, prosecutor Tanvir Hassan Zoha filed a petition before the ICT seeking its direction on this matter. After hearing the petition, the tribunal ordered the authorities of the CID and BTRC to verify the authenticity of the voice recordings.
After the ICT order, another prosecutor, BM Sultan Mahmud, told the media that they had obtained crucial call recordings of Hasina and others related to the killings and enforced disappearances that took place during the student-led mass uprising last year, and presented them before the tribunal. The tribunal ordered the forensic analysis to verify the authenticity of the audio files of the call recordings obtained from various sources and online platforms, he added.
Prosecutor Tanvir Hassan Zoha said that significant evidence regarding enforced disappearances has also been found. "All kinds of arrangements were made to get rid of the evidence of the murders."
Sheikh Hasina fled to India with her sister Sheikh Rehana on 5 August last year in the face of a mass uprising led by students. She has been staying in India since then.
After the fall of her Awami League (AL) government, more than 60 cases or complaints of enforced disappearances, killings, genocide, and crimes against humanity were lodged at the ICT, accusing Hasina, leaders of the AL and the 14-party alliance, and senior officials of different law enforcement agencies.
Numerous cases on various charges, including murder and attempted murder, have also been filed in police stations in Dhaka and around the country against the ousted prime minister, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 15 years, and AL leaders.
