Not ‘Enforced Disappearance,’ But Eight Years in ‘Hiding’ for Barrister Arman?

“Sometimes, they would keep me blindfolded and tied for 24 hours. They wouldn’t let me get up or stand up.
I would sit with my eyes closed, facing the wall.”

Staff Correspondent

Dhaka, 9 March 2026: The International Crimes Tribunal-1 has held the cross-examination of Barrister Mir Ahmed bin Kashem Arman, a witness in a case of crimes against humanity filed against him by the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell of RAB. The defense lawyer claimed that Barrister Arman had been in hiding for eight long years and that no law enforcement agency had abducted him. The witness rejected this claim and said that these allegations were not true.

The interrogation was conducted by a three-member judicial panel led by Tribunal Chairman Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder on Sunday (March 8). Col. KM Azad’s lawyer Aminul Gani Tito interrogated on behalf of the accused. Prosecutor Mizanul Islam, Gazi MH Tamim, Shaikh Mahdi, ABM Sultan Mahmud and others heard on behalf of the prosecution.

During the interrogation, lawyer Tito said, “You were in hiding. No law enforcement agency disappeared you. All the details given in your book ‘Ainagharer Sakshi, Gumjivaner At Baarsh’ are false.” In response, Barrister Arman said, “This is not true.”

When asked about the evidence in the case, which was the only evidence related to the disappearance, the witness said,

“The investigation officer wanted my neck towel, lungi and T-shirt.
But I couldn’t give them to him because they weren’t preserved.”

When asked by lawyer Tito whether he had been intentionally destroyed, Arman said, “That’s not true. I destroyed it.”

At one stage of the interrogation, a documentary about Barrister Arman’s life in hiding
was shown to the tribunal as evidence.

At 19 minutes and 40 seconds of the video shown in the defense’s application, Barrister Armaan is seen wearing a lungi-T-shirt and a towel around his neck. The witness said that this was taken from the original CCTV footage. Lawyer Tito said, “You are wearing all this for the purpose of making a documentary.” In response, Armaan said, “This is not true. The footage is taken from the original CCTV.”

Then, lawyer Tabarak Hossain asked for time to interrogate the seven accused, including Lieutenant Colonel Sarwar Bin Kashem. Despite objections from Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam, the tribunal set March 10 (Monday) as the next date for the interrogation.

The accused in this case are former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her security advisor Tariq Siddiqui and 17 others, 10 of whom have been arrested. Barrister Arman testified as the first prosecution witness on January 21, 2026, and gave a detailed account of his life in hiding. He claimed to have been in hiding for about eight years from August 9, 2016 to 2024. This interrogation is being considered a crucial part of the case, as the issue of verifying the truth between the witness’s claims and the prosecution’s questions has come up.