Tribunal Seeks Meta Data on Muzaffar Hossain’s Facebook Communications

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) prosecution has requested information from Meta regarding the alleged suspicious Facebook communications of former army officer Muzaffar Hossain, who was arrested in connection with the assassination case of former President Ziaur Rahman. Investigators have sought preservation and disclosure of 12 categories of digital records, including subscriber information, login history, IP addresses, location data, and deleted messages.

ICT prosecutor Tanvir Hasan Joha said the request was submitted to Meta last week through the company's official legal request process.

According to him, investigators identified a Facebook account used by Muzaffar Hossain and found communications with several suspicious profiles. Particular attention has been given to accounts using the photographs of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

The prosecution requested subscriber details, registered email addresses, phone numbers, login history, IP addresses, geographical location data, and deleted communications to support the investigation into alleged crimes against humanity.

Joha said digital forensic analysis had identified conversations between Muzaffar and several Bangla-coded Facebook accounts using the images of Sheikh Hasina and Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Meta has been asked to verify whether those accounts are authentic or fake and identify the individuals behind them.

He added that the requested information could also help determine whether Muzaffar had any communication linked to Ganabhaban on July 24, 2024.

Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam said on Tuesday that Muzaffar would be questioned if necessary based on findings from ongoing investigations. The matter remains under review.

Muzaffar Hossain was arrested from Banani in Dhaka on July 15 and handed over to the Military Police at Dhaka Cantonment the following day. On July 23, the International Crimes Tribunal formally showed him arrested in a crimes against humanity case and approved his interrogation.

Joha said obtaining archived data from 2024 could take three to six months. He also claimed that open-source intelligence analysis suggested some of the suspicious Facebook accounts may have been linked to administrators or editors of official Awami League social media pages. Geolocation data from Meta could help clarify those connections.

He further said investigators have recovered login records from four devices associated with one of Muzaffar’s email addresses. Those digital footprints are expected to help determine his movements and any additional online activities.