Bangladesh Detains General Over Alleged Staged Killing

Bangladesh has detained active army Brigadier General Miftah Uddin Ahmed over the alleged extrajudicial killing of local politician Akramul Haque during a 2018 anti-narcotics crackdown, officials said Tuesday.

Army officer Sami-Ud-Dowla Chowdhury told AFP that Ahmed was taken into custody for further judicial proceedings.

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal last week accepted a complaint against 11 officials over Haque's killing. The accused include former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a former police chief and six serving and retired military officers.

ICT chief prosecutor Aminul Islam said investigators had submitted a report detailing the alleged involvement of the accused.

The case centres on Haque, a councillor in the southeastern district of Cox's Bazar. Hasina's government had described him as a “meth kingpin”. His wife, Ayesha Akhter, later released an audio recording that she said captured his final moments and contradicted official claims that he had died in a shootout.

Akhter told AFP her family had been waiting for this day for eight years. “We want to keep faith in our judicial system,” she said.

Rights groups say at least 466 people were killed during the nationwide anti-drug campaign launched in 2018, with many deaths alleged to have occurred in staged gunfights involving security forces.

The United States imposed sanctions in 2021 on Bangladesh's elite Rapid Action Battalion and several current and former commanders over allegations of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Rights activist Abu Ahmed Faijul Kabir welcomed the detention announcement, calling the case a test for accountability over alleged abuses during the anti-drug campaign. He said campaigners would monitor the proceedings and hoped other suspects would also be taken into custody.