Bangladesh tribunal sends Saifur Rahman Saif to jail. Prosecutors say witnesses named him in Ilias Ali case.

International Crimes Tribunal-1 sent Bangladesh Air Force wing commander Saifur Rahman Saif to jail after rejecting his bail request in a crimes against humanity case over the 2012 enforced disappearance of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader M. Ilias Ali.

Defence counsel Tabarak Hossain Bhuiyan said Saif had returned from England and Thailand and cooperated with the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. “If my client had committed any offence, he would never have returned from abroad,” he said.

Chief prosecutor Md Aminul Islam opposed bail, saying witnesses had named Saif and prosecutors had found a prima facie case against him. “We have already obtained evidence against the accused in connection with the disappearance of Ilias Ali,” Aminul said.

Ali and his driver, Ansar Ali, disappeared on April 17, 2012. Tribunal had earlier issued an arrest warrant for Saif.