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Seven individuals, together with Bangladesh’s nationwide police chief, have been sanctioned by Biden’s administration over alleged rights abuses.
Bangladesh on Saturday known as within the US ambassador to protest sanctions by Washington in opposition to its high safety officers after seven individuals, together with the nation’s nationwide police chief, have been accused by the Biden administration of human rights abuses.
Washington imposed sanctions in opposition to the Speedy Motion Battalion (RAB), which is accused of involvement in a whole bunch of disappearances and almost 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018.
Seven present or former officers of the Speedy Motion Battalion have been additionally sanctioned. They embody Benazir Ahmed, beforehand the RAB chief and presently the nationwide head of the South Asian nation’s greater than 200,000-strong police power.
“We’re decided to place human rights on the centre of our overseas coverage, and we reaffirm this dedication through the use of applicable instruments and authorities to attract consideration to and promote accountability for human rights violations and abuses,” stated Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Bangladesh officers have been fast to denounce the transfer, with overseas secretary Masud Bin Momen summoning the US ambassador “to convey Dhaka’s discontent” over the choice, his ministry stated.
He “regretted that the US determined to undermine an company of the federal government that had been on the forefront of combating terrorism, drug trafficking and different heinous transnational crimes that have been thought-about to be shared priorities with successive US administrations”, it added in an announcement.
One of many sanctioned people, RAB deputy chief KM Azad, defended the power’s operations, saying it by no means violates human rights.
“If bringing down a felony underneath the regulation is a violation of human rights, then we have now no objection to violating this human rights within the curiosity of the nation,” he stated.
‘Good transfer’
The nation’s Dwelling Minister Asaduzzaman Khan additionally commented on the transfer, saying incidents of human rights violations are at all times investigated.
“If any incident of human rights violation is reported, investigations are carried out by magistrates. Authorized motion is taken right here if any authorities company violates human rights,” Khan instructed reporters in Dhaka.
“The US has not imposed the sanctions pretty. They did it primarily based on exaggerated information. Sustaining regulation and order is a difficult process in Bangladesh,” he added. “Drug peddlers use firearms for self-defence that results in gunfights with the members of regulation enforcement companies, inflicting casualties.”
In the meantime, native rights activists welcomed the measures.
“It’s a good transfer by the US. However extra officers who have been concerned within the abductions and enforced disappearances ought to have been included,” stated Sanjida Islam, an organiser of Mayer Daak, which represents victims’ households.
Most Bangladesh safety companies are concerned in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, she stated, however RAB was the principle perpetrator and was concerned within the abduction and disappearance of her brother in 2013.
RAB was created in 2004 to fight extremism and critical crimes within the nation of 169 million individuals.
However it has been dogged by controversies and accused of gross human rights violations, together with staging gunfights to kill alleged criminals.
In January 2017, a Bangladesh courtroom sentenced 26 individuals together with 16 RAB officers to loss of life after they have been discovered responsible of involvement within the abduction and homicide of seven individuals within the central metropolis of Narayanganj.
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