The government has temporarily declared a building inside Dhaka Cantonment as a prison, a day after 15 army officers—wanted by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for crimes against humanity—were taken into military custody.
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette notification on Sunday (October 12), stating that under Section 541(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 3(b) of the Prisons Act, the “MES Building No. 54,” located north of Bashar Road inside Dhaka Cantonment, has been declared a temporary prison.
The order was made effective immediately, though the notification did not specify who would be held in the facility.
Inspector General of Prisons Jannat Ul Farhad told bdnews24.com that they had received the order and would soon deploy prison staff to the location.
Earlier on Saturday, at a press briefing at the Army Headquarters, it was announced that the ICT had issued arrest warrants against 32 current and former army officers in connection with three cases of crimes against humanity. Of them, 15 officers currently in service were taken into custody.
The tribunal issued the warrants last Wednesday after accepting formal charges in two cases involving allegations of enforced disappearances and torture of opposition figures during the Awami League government’s tenure.