Killing of Ekramul Haque

Last updated

Killing of Ekramul Haque refers to the extrajudicial killing of Ekramul Haque, councillor of Teknaf Municipality Ward three, by a unit of the Rapid Action Battalion. [1] He was elected as councilor in Teknaf Municipality three times in a row as a candidate of the Awami League. [2] Haque was a former president of the Teknaf unit of the Jubo League, the youth wing of Awami League, for 13 years. [3] During a Bangladesh government crackdown on the narcotics trade, the death of more than 100 suspects took place in shoot-outs with law enforcement agencies. [4] [5] Since 2018 more than 200 individuals were killed in extrajudicial shootings by law enforcement agencies in Teknaf alone. [6]

Contents

On 27 May 2018, Ekramul Haque was killed in a gunfight with the Rapid Action Battalion. Major Md Ruhul Amin, company commander of Rapid Action Battalion-7, said there was a gunfight and then they found his body. [7] They also recovered 10,000 pieces of Ya ba and two guns. [7] Ranjit Kumar Barua, officer in charge of Tekhnaf Police Station, told the Dhaka Tribune that Haque was a listed as a drug dealer by the Ministry of Home Affairs. [7] Haque's brother, Ehsanul Haque Bahadur, said that his brother was picked up by intelligence agents, who told him that they wanted to discuss a real estate deal. [2] Squadron Leader Nazmus Sakib, the head of the Tekhnaf unit of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, was also involved in the shooting. [1]

Lieutenant Colonel Miftah Uddin Ahmed who was commanding officer of Rapid Action Battalion-7 called Haque a "godfather of Ya ba". [8] [9] Major Amin said Haque was listed as a top drug dealer with the Department of Narcotics Control but the local official of Department of Narcotics Control denied knowing of any cases filed by the department against Haque. [2] Claims of Haque being a drug dealer were denied by his wife and Jabed Iqbal Chowdhury, president of the Tekhnaf unit of the Awami League. [2]

Audio leak

A recording of the last phone call was leaked in which Haque was talking on the phone with his wife, Ayesha Begum, on 26 May 2018, one day before the reported shootout. [10] The screaming of Haque's wife and daughters could be heard in the call. [3] The sound of gun fire and the groaning of a man could be heard on the call. [10] [11] Ayesha called the killing a "pre-planned murder". [10] She said that an intelligence officer had pressuring Haque for help to buy a land on the Marine drive road. [10] The claims were denied by the director of the Rapid Action Battalion's legal and media wing, Mufti Mahmud Khan. [10]

Reaction

Haque's family campaigned for justice while receiving threats from security forces. [3] [12] They were asked to not speak to the media. [13] The Bangladesh government created an investigation team to look into the shooting after the audio call was leaked. [14]

On 10 December 2021, the United States approved sanctions against seven current and former officers of the Rapid Action Battalion under the Magnitsky Act, the first Bangladeshi officials to face sanctions under the act. [15] Those charged included Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed, [16] who is also the former director general of the Rapid Action Battalion, the present director general of the Rapid Action Battalion Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Additional Director General (operations) Colonel Khan Mohammad Azad, former additional director general (operations) Colonel Tofayel Mustafa Sorwar, former additional director general (operations) Colonel Mohammad Jahangir Alam, former additional director general (operations) Colonel Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan and Lieutenant Colonel Miftah Uddin Ahmed. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid Action Battalion</span> Elite Bangladeshi police unit

Rapid Action Battalion is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Border Guard, and the Bangladesh Ansar. It was formed on 26 March 2004 as RAT, and commenced operations on 14 April 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teknaf</span>

Teknaf is a municipality of Teknaf Upazila of Cox's Bazar District in south-eastern Bangladesh. It forms the southernmost point in mainland Bangladesh.

The Daily Star is a Bangladeshi English-language daily newspaper. It is by far the largest circulating English-language newspaper in the country. Founded by Syed Mohammed Ali on 14 January 1991, as Bangladesh transitioned and restored parliamentary democracy, the newspaper became popular for its outspoken coverage of politics, corruption, and foreign policy. It is considered a newspaper of record for Bangladesh. The newspaper has been described as having a "reputation for journalistic integrity and liberal and progressive views - a kind of Bangladeshi New York Times".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh</span> Former Corrupted Mayor of South Dhaka

Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh is a Bangladeshi politician and former mayor of South Dhaka. He previously served as a member of the Jatiya Sangsad for Dhaka-10 and Dhaka-12 from the Bangladesh Awami League.

Gulzar Uddin Ahmed, also known as Colonel Gulzar Ahmed, was the founding director of the intelligence wing and also served Additional Director General of Rapid Action Battalion. Until his death, he was a Colonel of the Bangladesh Army and also Sector Commander and Deputy Director General of Bangladesh Rifles.

Seven Murders of the Narayanganj was the enforced disappearance and murder of seven people in Bangladesh, including a Panel mayor of Narayanganj City Corporation and a lawyer in April 2014. 27 Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members, including three top RAB 11 officials, were involved in the abduction and killing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chowdhury Fazlul Bari</span> Bangladeshi military personnel

Chowdhury Fazlul Bari is a former Bangladesh Army officer and former director general of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence.

Crossfire refers to the death of a person by gun shot, oftentimes under the custody of a law enforcement agency in Bangladesh. There are accusations that it is staged extrajudicial killing. In March 2010, the then director general of the elite law enforcement agency of Bangladesh, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said that since it was started in 2004 RAB had killed 622 people. Human Rights Watch, a New York-based NGO, has described RAB as a Bangladeshi government death squad. Odhikar, a Dhaka-based human rights organization, reported at least 1,169 people lost their lives in extrajudicial killings between January 2009 and May 2016 in Bangladesh. According to Odhikar, in June 2016, extrajudicial killings in the country took at least 24 lives. According to another rights group, Ain O Salish Kendra, 79 people were killed in so-called shootouts while in police custody in Bangladesh in the first six months of 2016. The police were involved in 37 of these deaths. Of them, seven had been in killed in crossfire with Detective Branch (DB) officials. Bangladesh police forces shot dead 130 people in a Philippines-style drugs crackdown in three weeks starting from May 2018.

Abdul Aziz Sarkar was a Bangladeshi police officer who served as the Director General of Rapid Action Battalion.

Methamphetamine in Bangladesh is an illegal substance that is often consumed in the form of Yaba. Yaba is a drug made by combining methamphetamine and caffeine. They are sold as colorful pills. There are three forms of Yaba in Bangladesh, they are R-7, Controller, and Champa.

The Bangladesh drug war or Bangladesh's war on drugs is an ongoing campaign against alleged drug dealers and users by the government of Bangladesh under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers by the elite anti-crime unit Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the police have been criticized by human rights groups and foreign diplomats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman</span> Bangladeshi politician and journalist

Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman is a journalist and Bangladesh Awami League politician who is a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Chandpur-4 constituency.

AKM Fazlul Haque Milon is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and the former Member of Parliament of Gazipur-3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun</span> Bangladeshi police officer

Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun is a Bangladeshi police officer who served as the 31st Inspector general of Bangladesh Police (IGP) who served from 30 September 2022 to 6 August 2024. Previously he served as director general of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). He was made the DG of RAB in April 2020. Prior to join RAB, he was the chief of Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Gono Mukti Fouz is a left wing terrorist group in Bangladesh. The organization is similar in ideology to other left-wing armed groups like Biplobi Communist Party, Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party, Purbo Banglar Communist Party (Janajuddho), and Purbo Banglar Communist Party. The group is most active in South-Western Districts of Bangladesh.

The Murder of Major Sinha Mohammed Rashed Khan refers to the extrajudicial killing of a retired Bangladesh Army Major in Cox's Bazar by members of Bangladesh Police on 31 July 2020.

Mohammad Jahangir Alam is a Bangladesh Army Major General, he is the current General Officer Commanding of 33rd Infantry Division & Area Commander, Cumilla Area, Cumilla Cantonment. He was commissioned with 26th BMA Long Course in Bangladesh Army. He served as Additional Director General (Operations) at the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) an elite multi-service unit of the Bangladesh Police. He was one of seven officers of RAB sanctioned by the United States for violation of human rights. He was the Commander of President Guard Regiment. He is a graduate of National Defence College, Bangladesh and Defence Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur.

Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan is a retired Bangladesh Army Colonel and former Sector Commander of Border Guards Bangladesh in Rajshahi. He is the former Additional Director General (Operations) at the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) an elite multi-service unit of the Bangladesh Police and oversaw crackdowns on Islamist militants. He has been sanctioned by the United States for his activities in RAB. He had previously commanded RAB-5, RAB-7, and RAB-11.

Miftah Uddin Ahmed is a Bangladesh Army Lieutenant Colonel and officer of Rapid Action Battalion who has been sanctioned by the United States for human rights violations.

<i>Inside the Death Squad</i> 2023 Deutsche Welle documentary film

Inside the Death Squad or "'Death squad': Inside Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion" is a documentary film produced by Deutsche Welle in partnership with Netra News that investigates allegations of extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses committed by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite police force in Bangladesh. The documentary features interviews with former RAB officers, witnesses, and human rights activists, and includes footage of alleged killings and interviews with family members of victims. The RAB has been accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses in Bangladesh. The documentary sheds light on the tactics used by the RAB, including torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings, and raises important questions about the use of state violence and the government's role in protecting human rights.

References

  1. 1 2 "In Recording, Chilling Proof That Hasina's War on Drugs Involves Extra-Judicial Killing".
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Poura councillor killed in Teknaf". The Daily Star. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Akramul killing: Govt to examine audio clips, says home minister". The Daily Star. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "Some mistakes may occur in anti-drug drive: Quader". The Financial Express. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  5. ↑ Bagchi, Suvojit (2 June 2018). "Altered states: On the Bangladesh border, a pink pill leaves a trail of blood". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Extrajudicial killings are no mark of a civilized society - UCA News". Union of Catholic Asian News. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "Teknaf municipality councillor killed in 'gunfight'". Dhaka Tribune. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  8. ↑ "Now, councillor killed in Teknaf gunfight". Daily Bangladesh. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "Teknaf municipality councillor among two killed in 'gunfights' during anti-drug drive". bdnews24.com. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "'Murder' it was". The Daily Star. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "Audio exposes moments of controversial anti-drug drive - Front Page". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  12. ↑ "Ekramul's family cries for justice". New Age. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "A year on, no progress in Councillor Ekram killing probe". Bangla Tribune. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  14. ↑ "Bangladesh's Crossfire Doctrine". Pulitzer Center. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  15. 1 2 "US imposes sanctions on RAB, 7 officials over human rights abuse". The Business Standard. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  16. ↑ "Benazir: "We are victims of lies, falsehood and deceit"". Netra News. 6 January 2022. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.