Businessman Tells Tribunal of Abduction and Torture Over Facebook Posts
A businessman has testified before Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), alleging that he was abducted, secretly detained, and tortured in 2020 over Facebook posts critical of the then government.
The witness, Md Masrur Anwar Chowdhury, appeared before International Crimes Tribunal-1 as part of the case involving allegations of enforced disappearance and crimes against humanity by members of RAB at the TFI Cell.
During his testimony, he told the court that he was picked up by plainclothes individuals from Dhaka’s Gulshan area in March 2020 and taken to an undisclosed location, where he was held incommunicado and interrogated about his social media activity. He alleged that he was blindfolded, handcuffed, and subjected to physical and psychological torture while being pressured to confess to links with extremist activities, claims he denied.
According to his statement, he was later transferred to another facility believed to be linked to the Rapid Action Battalion, where interrogation and pressure continued. He also claimed that detainees were threatened with being killed in so-called “crossfire” incidents. The witness further alleged that after days of detention, he and others were presented before the media as arrested suspects in an extremism case before being sent to jail. He spent several months in custody before securing bail.
The case involves allegations against multiple high-profile individuals, including former senior government officials, over a pattern of enforced disappearances during the previous administration.
Prosecutors argue that such incidents were part of a broader system of repression targeting dissenting voices, particularly those expressing criticism online. State prosecutors, including Shyikh Mahdi and SM Tasmirul Islam, appeared before the court, while defence lawyers Mr. Aminul Gani Tito, Tobarok Hossain, and others represented the accused.
Relevant news reports in this regard are as follows:
Dhaka Post: https://www.dhakapost.com/law-courts/446472
The New Age: https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/297367/i-was-abducted-tortured-over-facebook-post-businessman-tells-ict
Citizens’ Voice: https://citizensvoicebd.com/crime/107634