The foreign minister made the request in a new year greetings letter to the US secretary of state
Dubbed as an elite police unit, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is composed of members of the police, armed forces, and border guards, seconded to it from their respective units Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
Tribune Desk
Publish : 01 Jan 2022, 04:40 PMUpdate : 02 Jan 2022, 01:52 PM
Dhaka has requested to Washington to reconsider the sanctions it imposed on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and its seven former and current officials.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen made the request to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his new year greeting letter, Bangla national Prothom Alo reported on Sunday citing Foreign Ministry officials.
On December 10, the US State Department and the Treasury Department announced extensive human rights-related sanctions on dozens of people and entities tied to Bangladesh, China, Myanmar and North Korea.
Among them were former RAB chief Benazir Ahmed, who now serves as the inspector general of Bangladesh Police, and six other officials who were made ineligible for entry to the US in connection with ‘serious human rights abuse’.
In particular, the State Department linked Benazir and another RAB commanding officer, Lt Col Miftah Uddin Ahmed, to the ‘extrajudicial’ killing of Teknaf Municipality councillor Ekramul Haque in 2018.
They have been barred from travelling to the US.
The other senior RAB officials, who have been sanctioned, are its Director General Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Additional Director General (operations) Khan Mohammad Azad, and former additional directors general (operations) Tofayel Mustafa Sorwar, Mohammad Jahangir Alam, and Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan.
“Widespread allegations of serious human rights abuse in Bangladesh by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)—as part of the Bangladeshi government’s war on drugs—threaten US national security interests by undermining the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the economic prosperity of the people of Bangladesh,” the US Treasury Department said.
RAB is a joint task force founded in 2004. Its mandate includes internal security, intelligence gathering related to criminal activities, and government-directed investigations. NGOs have alleged that RAB and other Bangladeshi law enforcement are responsible for more than 600 disappearances since 2009, nearly 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018, and torture. Some reports suggest these incidents target opposition party members, journalists, and human rights activists.
Momen urges Blinken to reconsider RAB sanctions
Dhaka has requested to Washington to reconsider the sanctions it imposed on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and its seven former and current officials.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen made the request to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his new year greeting letter, Bangla national Prothom Alo reported on Sunday citing Foreign Ministry officials.
On December 10, the US State Department and the Treasury Department announced extensive human rights-related sanctions on dozens of people and entities tied to Bangladesh, China, Myanmar and North Korea.
Among them were former RAB chief Benazir Ahmed, who now serves as the inspector general of Bangladesh Police, and six other officials who were made ineligible for entry to the US in connection with ‘serious human rights abuse’.
In particular, the State Department linked Benazir and another RAB commanding officer, Lt Col Miftah Uddin Ahmed, to the ‘extrajudicial’ killing of Teknaf Municipality councillor Ekramul Haque in 2018.
They have been barred from travelling to the US.
The other senior RAB officials, who have been sanctioned, are its Director General Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Additional Director General (operations) Khan Mohammad Azad, and former additional directors general (operations) Tofayel Mustafa Sorwar, Mohammad Jahangir Alam, and Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan.
“Widespread allegations of serious human rights abuse in Bangladesh by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)—as part of the Bangladeshi government’s war on drugs—threaten US national security interests by undermining the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the economic prosperity of the people of Bangladesh,” the US Treasury Department said.
RAB is a joint task force founded in 2004. Its mandate includes internal security, intelligence gathering related to criminal activities, and government-directed investigations. NGOs have alleged that RAB and other Bangladeshi law enforcement are responsible for more than 600 disappearances since 2009, nearly 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018, and torture. Some reports suggest these incidents target opposition party members, journalists, and human rights activists.
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