August 2011
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Summary:
Hardly a week goes by in Bangladesh without people being shot in Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) operations. RAB is a special police force, created, to much public acclaim, to combat criminal gang activity throughout the country. But since its inception in 2004,RAB has been implicated in the unlawful killing of at least 700 people. At least 200 of these killings have occurred during the tenure of the current Awami League government, despite the Prime Minister’s pledge to end extrajudajudicial executions. Such deaths are typically explained away as accidental or as a result of RAB officers acting in self-defence as victims are said to have been killed in “crossfire”. In many cases, victims were killed following arrest. Nevertheless, investigations carried out either by RAB or a government-appointed judicial body have not resulted in judicial prosecution. While the outcome of judicial investigations has remained secret, RAB has consistently denied responsibility for any unlawful killings. RAB officials say other wrong-doings have been addressed through administrative action against offending RAB personnel. By failing to take judicial action against RAB, Bangladeshi governments past and present have effectively endorsed RAB’s claims and conduct in such cases.
Reports that RAB has widely used torture and excessive force have similarly gone nowhere. Despite persistent allegations, Bangladeshi authorities have taken no action to prosecute RAB personnel.
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