International Crimes Tribunal-1 issued an arrest warrant on Sunday for Wing Commander Saifur Rahman over the disappearance of BNP central leader M Ilias Ali on April 17, 2012. The order followed an application by the prosecution, according to the report.

Prosecutor Shaikh Mahdi said preliminary investigation findings and witness statements had found evidence of Saifur Rahman’s direct involvement in Ali’s abduction. He said social media claims that Saifur had been arrested and kept in Air Force custody were not found to be true. The prosecution then sought the warrant, which the tribunal granted.

Prosecution sources said investigators learned that Ali was taken away in a second attempt led by former army officer Ziaul Ahsan after an initial attempt failed. Saifur, then a Squadron Leader, worked in RAB’s intelligence branch, while Ziaul was its director. Saifur’s name also emerged in warrant officer Imrul Kayes’s June 21 statement in a crimes-against-humanity case involving more than 100 disappearances and killings. Ziaul remains arrested in that case.