DHAKA: Bangladeshi police said on Tuesday they had arrested a lawyer who served as a senior prosecutor at a court that sentenced political leaders to death under the rule of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The case is the latest in a string of detentions of people who had held senior positions during Hasina’s rule, who is herself wanted on charges of crimes against humanity for the killing of hundreds of protesters during the unrest that toppled her government last August.

Tureen Afroz was arrested on Monday night on charges of attempted murder, in a case linked to the student-led uprising, said Muhidul Islam, police deputy commissioner in Dhaka.

The case against Afroz was filed by Mohammed Jabbar, 21, who was shot in August as security forces sought to quash protests.

“She has several co-accused in this particular case, but none are as prominent as she is,” Muhidul said.

Afroz was a prosecutor at Bangladesh’s domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), which was set up by Hasina in 2010 to try politicians accused of “war crimes” during the 1971 crisis.

The ICT sentenced numerous prominent political opponents to death over the following years and became widely seen as a means for Sheikh Hasina to eliminate her rivals.

Afroz played a prominent role in the cases of six religious figures, including several from the Jamaat-i-Islami, who were sentenced to hang. All except Ghulam Azam were executed.

This is the first time a former ICT prosecutor has been arrested on such charges.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025