The Rapid Action Battalion’s Human Rights Abuses in Bangladesh
Developing nations around the world have long been plagued by the threats of terrorism and crime, which they often have been ill-equipped to deal with. One such example is Bangladesh, a country that is no stranger to violence. This relatively young nation, formed in 1971 following its bloody war of independence against Pakistan and the genocide that accompanied it, has faced an arduous existence, being mired by a number of issues such as poverty, famine, coups, and natural disasters (including some of the deadliest tropical cyclones ever recorded). All of these have only stunted Bangladesh’s development and left the country all the more fragile.
The hardships faced by Bangladesh, particularly related to the issue of terrorism, only increased following 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror, which saw a resurgence in terrorism and Islamic radicalism throughout the country. These issues were so apparent that in 2003 the government decided to establish an entirely new unit, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), to deal with the growing violence in the country and to serve as the country’s primary anti-terrorist and anti-crime unit. Since its formation, the unit earned a reputable name throughout the country because of its crackdown on gangsterism, which long plagued the country, as well as its arrest of key terrorist figures such as Mufti Abdul Hannan and Ataur Rahman Sunny.
However, despite these positive results, throughout its short existence, questions have emerged over time regarding the unit’s heavy-handed tactics, with many media outlets and NGOs like Human Rights Watch accusing them of a number of human rights abuses, such as forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, and other crimes. The unit’s abuses have been so widespread that even Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, called for the disbanding of the unit in 2014, claiming that, “This force no longer has any necessity as they stood against people. People will remain in panic as long as this force will be there.”
The RAB has sought to defend it actions and justify many of its crimes, often claiming that instances of extrajudicial killings, euphemistically referred to as “crossfire”, are actually acts of self-defence by its officers, with one MP of the ruling Awami League even praising the practise and calling for its increase. Yet such excuses have come under serious scrutiny over the years and are found to be largely hollow.
This is just one such example, and abuses by the RAB are still ongoing, as the country finds itself battling against IS and other militant groups, providing the unit with ample self-justification for its actions. Yet, despite it conflicting with various non-state organisations, many of its recent victims have been found to exist outside the terrorist sphere, and often include ethnic minorities, journalists, and other non-combatants. For example, recent attacks launched in eastern Bangladesh by the RAB, as part of its wider conflict with minority separatist groups in the region, have displaced nearly three hundred civilians and have forced others to flee to neighbouring India, with the Zo Reunification Organisation, an NGO, accusing the unit of attacking villages and abducting civilians. The unit’s abuses extend beyond the context of armed conflict and also include cartoonists such as Ahmed Kishore, who was arrested under the controversial Digital Security Act in 2021, and who claims to have been tortured by RAB officers whilst in custody. This incident, as well as the death of writer Mushtaq Ahmed, drew the attention of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.
In response to its human rights abuses over the years, the US sanctioned the unit and several of its key figures in 2021 under the Magnitsky Act. This move was protested by many within the Bangladeshi government, who have denied allegations of human rights abuses and have even written to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urging him to reconsider the sanctions. However, the US largely stands alone in sanctioning the RAB, as no other major nations have followed suit, with the UK reportedly U-turning on its decision to sanction the unit in coordination with the US, with no explanation as to why. In fact, it has even been found that over years the unit has received training from several EU member states and the UK, with several of its members even travelling to the UK, Poland and the Netherlands this year alone, despite American sanctions.