Today: 5 May 2025
12 December 2021
2 mins read

US sanctions B’desh paramilitary unit

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…writes Sanjeev Sharma

 The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Bangladeshs elite paramilitary unit, after widespread allegations of serious human rights abuse.

The Treasury said 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.

RAB is a joint task force founded in 2004 and composed of members of the police, army, navy, air force, and border guards seconded to the RAB from their respective units.

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.

RAB is designated for being a foreign entity that is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse.

Additionally, the following individuals are designated for being foreign persons who are or have been a leader or official of RAB, an entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse relating to their tenure-Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Director General; Benazir Ahmed, former Director General; Khan Mohammad Azad, Additional Director General (Operations); Tofayel Mustafa Sorwar, former Additional Director General (Operations); Mohammad Jahangir Alam, former Additional Director General (Operations); and Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan, former Additional Director General (Operations).

The US Department of State has announced visa restrictions on Benazir Ahmed due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights, making him ineligible for entry into America.

Responding to the development, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen slammed the sanctions, saying the move was “very unfortunate” and “not fact-based”.

“I would expect from (the) US more solid fact-based response,” Momen said on Saturday, ensuring that Dhaka would review if it was an outcome of any “geopolitics”, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Foreign Ministry has also summoned the US envoy in Dhaka, Earl R. Miller, to convey Bangladesh’s “discontent” over the development.

On whether the development could strain Bangladesh-US relations, Momen told reporters: “I don’t think so,” but quickly added that “it depends on the US”.

He said the allegations of gross rights violations by the anti-crime elite police unit were not “based on facts” and RAB was a disciplined institution that instead “has been securing human rights for the people of Bangladesh”.

The Foreign Minister said the US claimed that RAB killed 600 people in 10 years, but “we have no information who were killed”, saying the decision should have been backed by facts.

ALSO READ: FS meets Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

Previous Story

Yemeni Govt ambushes Houthi, 12 dead

Next Story

Religious scholar shot dead in Afghanistan

Latest from -Top News

UAE Reopens Doors to Lebanon

The prime minister expressed Lebanon’s “utmost gratitude and appreciation to the UAE” and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan….reports Asian Lite News Lebanon welcomed the decision by the United Arab Emirates

SYRIA RAIDS: Arab League Slams Israel

The Arab League condemned the airstrikes and called on the international community and the United Nations to confront what it described as “repeated violations committed by Israel against the Syrian state.” The

India Rises, Africa Watches 

While struggling economies in Africa engulf themselves in ideological battles and take sides in the tariff battles, nations like India are placing their national interest first and navigating Global Trade challenges in

WAVES 2025: Jaishankar Advocates Cultural Pluralism

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered a powerful address at the WAVES 2025 Global Media Dialogue, highlighting the significance of cultural pluralism in shaping global change. Speaking on the second day of
Go toTop