RAB asks HRW to think about Gaza

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has rejected the allegation that Human Rights Watch levelled against it over extrajudicial killings and advised the US rights organisation to turn its focus to murders of the Palestinians in Gaza Strip instead.

The New York-based HRW in a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina alleged that the elite police unit RAB was being used as ‘death squad’ and urged her to dissolve the force.

Reacting to the allegation and call, RAB Additional Director General Col Ziaul Ahsan said: “Hundreds of innocent people, including women and children, are being killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

"Human Rights Watch needs to give more importance to protest against these attacks.”

Over 500 Palestinians were killed in the last 14 days as Israel was heavily bombarding Gaza from the air, land and sea.

The HRW has called for protection of the civilian people calling the Israeli attacks illegal.

Arguing for dissolution of RAB, HRW said the agency killed around 800 people since its inception in 2004.

The HRW letter said the Bangladesh government ‘completely failed’ to keep its commitment to ensure accountability of the agency through reform.

It said RAB was beyond reform and should therefore be disbanded.

The unit has been ‘allowed to operate with impunity by all successive governments’ ever since its inception, the letter said.

In such a situation, it observes, this force must be disbanded to stop extra-judicial killings.

Rejecting the HRW allegation, Col Ahsan claimed RAB never “commits any extra-judicial killing”.

“RAB has been working to combat crimes since the beginning and will continue to do so in future.”

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, who was the prime minister when RAB was formed, recently demanded dissolution of the agency after several of its members were accused of murdering seven people, including a city councillor, in Narayanganj.

The prime minister, however, has ruled out ‘sudden’ dissolution of the agency.

Three officers were withdrawn from RAB and subsequently arrested over the Narayanganj incident.

Col Ahsan said: “There are authorities of the government to take actions if anyone in RAB commits any crime.”

He claimed there were many instances of actions taken, through RAB’s own investigations, against its members breaking discipline.