International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam said on Sunday that isolated enforced disappearance cases from the Awami League’s roughly 15-year rule will be tried in criminal courts, not at the tribunal. Speaking to journalists at his office, he said the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Act-2026 classifies individual disappearance incidents as criminal offences subject to the relevant courts.

He said the tribunal can hear disappearance cases as crimes against humanity only when multiple incidents were committed on a widespread and systematic basis. Islam said the cases involving Ilias Ali and current Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed were being treated as part of such a pattern. By contrast, individual cases involving people taken into police custody and later charged cannot be brought under the widespread category, he said.

Islam also said multiple crossfire killings during the same period could be tried by the tribunal if they were widespread and systematically planned. He cited the case of Councillor Ekram as an example already brought before the tribunal. He added that proceedings in the Ziaul Hasan disappearance case were nearing completion, while testimony from more than five witnesses had been recorded in the cases involving Barrister Arman and Brigadier Azmi. A combined investigation is also underway into 250 missing victims.