The European Union (EU) ambassador in Dhaka has described the recent letter by a member of the European Parliament to the EU, seeking sanctions against the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), as personal correspondence.
Ivan Stefanec, an MEP from Slovakia, sent the letter on January 20 to Josep Borrell, high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
But EU envoy Charles Whiteley told reporters on Thursday that he does not have any details on the matter.
“I do not have any information about the letter to the European Parliament urging sanctions against RAB, it was a private letter,” he said.
Whiteley also declined to comment on the sanctions against the elite Bangladeshi police unit imposed by the United States.
Dhaka Tribune obtained a copy of the letter from the office of MEP Stefanec on Tuesday.
“First of all, in connection with the unrest In Bangladesh, I am asking for your attention, as the ruling party often uses inhumane practices, which have also been reported by institutions such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International. These include manipulating election results or suppressing political dissent,” says the letter.
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“The situation is very serious at the moment because the US government has imposed a ban on the current incumbent inspector general, who is the chief of police, as well as the Bangladeshi Rapid Battalion, known as RAB. These bans were imposed due to multiple extrajudicial executions over the years, specifically with reference to the killing of Ekramul Haque, a city councilor in May 2018,” it adds.
The letter goes on to say: “... another alarming statistic is the number of missing Bangladesh citizens. The numbers are in the hundreds, just over 500. This number has been documented by a group of citizens. It is also sad that a significant number of the missing are found later, but unfortunately, without any signs of life. The UN is conducting an investigation into this.”
When contacted, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday night dismissed the allegations, terming the letter absurd.
“I have read the letter. The contents of the letter are certainly not related to Bangladesh. I think the name of Bangladesh has wrongly been mentioned,” he said.
The US on December 10 last year imposed human rights-related sanctions on individuals and RAB as an entity on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.
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.
