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A serving Bangladesh Army officer told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that he witnessed activities and overheard conversations involving Major General (retd) Ziaul Ahsan in the days surrounding the 2012 disappearance of BNP leader Ilias Ali. Imrul Kayes, the fifth prosecution witness in a crimes against humanity case against Ziaul, provided his testimony during deposition.

Ziaul is accused of orchestrating the enforced disappearance and murder of 104 people between 2010 and 2013. Kayes, who joined the Armoured Corps in 2001 and was deputed to Rab headquarters from 2010 to 2012, worked as a "runner" for Ziaul, then director of Rab Intelligence. He recounted accompanying Ziaul and two others to the Mohakhali flyover area around April 13, 2012. During this outing, Kayes testified, Ziaul made calls to ascertain when a "target" would arrive, but they were later informed the target would not come.

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Sir, we golfed Ilias as per your instructions. If you act like this now, it won’t be right. I am a commando; it would be better if I were posted somewhere in the jungle.

Ilias Ali went missing from Dhaka's Banani area on April 17, 2012. Kayes learned of the disappearance through media reports while on leave. Upon returning to duty on April 23, he observed a tense atmosphere at Rab headquarters. He stated that other Rab members told him the armoury's weapon in-out register and CCTV footage had been destroyed.

Furthermore, Kayes testified to overhearing a phone conversation involving Ziaul. According to the witness, Ziaul received a call and said, "Hang up, Tarique Sir has called," identifying the caller as Major General (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique. Though Kayes could not hear the other side of the conversation, he heard Ziaul say, "Sir, we golfed Ilias as per your instructions. If you act like this now, it won’t be right. I am a commando; it would be better if I were posted somewhere in the jungle." Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam later explained to reporters that "golfed" was likely a coded term meaning to put someone into a hole, implying enforced disappearance. Ziaul Ahsan, the sole accused, was present during the deposition.

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Hang up, Tarique Sir has called.