Moshiur Rahman Jewel is a Lieutenant Colonel of the Bangladesh Army and former chief of intelligence of the Rapid Action Battalion, described by human rights activists as a "death squad". [1] [2] [3] [4] He is the former commander of Rapid Action Battalion-7, based in Chittagong. [5] [6]
In October 2021, Jewel was appointed director of the intelligence wing of Rapid Action Battalion, replacing Lieutenant Colonel Khairul Islam. [7] Lieutenant Colonel M. A. Yusuf, replaced Jewel as commander of Rapid Action Battalion-7. [8] Under Jewel, Rapid Action Battalion released a video showing Bangladeshi students and youths who disappeared and joined Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya being trained by Kuki-Chin National Front in February 2023. [1] [9] [10] He commented to the media, "By analysing the video, one clearly understands that those militants are highly capable in terms of firearms and physical training. It would have been a catastrophe if they managed to come to the plain lands and carried out attacks.". [11]
Jewel confirmed the arrest of Mufti Harun Izhar of Hifazat-e Islam Bangladesh over protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh in April 2021. [12]
On 20 June 2023, Jewel was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Saiful Islam Sumon as director of the intelligence wing of Rapid Action Battalion. [13]
Jewel was removed from a planned deployment to the United Nations peacekeeping operations at the last moment, along with another former officer of the Rapid Action Battalion, in June 2024. [14] This happened after Deutsche Welle ran a report questioning if Army officers who served in the Rapid Action Battalion, who it described as a "death squad", should be allowed to serve in peacekeeping missions. [14] In November 2020, a young man died under suspicious circumstances from blunt force trauma in the custody of Rapid Action Battalion-7, commanded by Jewel. [15]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)