A thorough investigation needs to be conducted by the BD government, and if our security forces beat a confession out of an innocent man, then they must be brought before justice. This kind of savegary has a place in fascist regimes, and no place in a democracy.
C
From: Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com>
To: Dhaka Mails <dhakamails@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 10:43:17 PM
Subject: [ALOCHONA] UK's MI5 named in Bangladesh torture claim
| UK's MI5 named in Bangladesh torture claim London, May 27 (bdnews24.com)—A British citizen is set to sue home secretary Jacqui Smith, alleging he was tortured while being held on suspicion of terrorism in Bangladesh with the complicity of UK security force MI5. Former civil servant Jamil Rahman, who grew up in south Wales, claims he was interrogated by MI5 officers in between beatings by Bangladesh security forces, the British media reported on Wednesday. Rahman said he was forced to give false confessions, including that he masterminded the 2005 terror attacks in London. The British government has replied that its security forces neither condone nor use torture.. But a home office spokeswoman confirmed that Rahman's legal team had written to the home secretary and said the government would respond "in due course", reported the BBC. According to the Guardian newspaper, MI5 agents have been accused of collusion in the torture of British nationals in many countries including Pakistan and Egypt and human rights group Amnesty International wants an independent probe into such claims. Police said in March they would investigate claims that MI5 was complicit in the torture of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed in Pakistan. In the latest allegations, Rahman says he faced repeated beatings by Bangladeshi agents while MI5 officers turned a blind eye. The events recounted in detail in the Guardian report forms the basis of civil proceedings being brought against the home secretary, says the British newspaper. Rahman says he was arrested in December 2005 by the DGFI - one of Bangladesh's main intelligence agencies. It was the start of an ordeal that would last more than two years, claims Rahman. The newspaper says the graduate and former civil servant had settled in Bangladesh that year after marrying a woman from Sylhet. The couple were taken to the local headquarters of the directorate general of forces intelligence (DGFI) and held in separate cells, says Rahman. After being stripped, beaten and told that his wife would be raped and murdered and her body burned, he says he agreed to make a lengthy tape-recorded confession to a number of terrorist offences, including masterminding the suicide bomb attacks on London's transport network the previous July. Rahman claims he was then questioned by two well-spoken Brits by the names of 'Liam' and 'Andrew', who said they were MI5 officers. Rahman says that after being interrogated for almost three weeks he and his wife were released, but he was told that he must remain in Bangladesh and not talk to anyone about his experiences. He says he was told that his calls would be monitored and that he was specifically instructed not to contact any lawyers or members of the media, or the UK high commission in Dhaka. On his release, Rahman claims his passport was withheld for two and a half years. During that period, he says he was frequently summoned for interrogations by MI5 and Bangladeshi officials. Rahman alleges that senior Bangladeshi agents who were supervising his mistreatment would give instructions that his head was not to be marked and that no bones were to be broken. He says he was shown hundreds of photographs, including surveillance photographs of friends in the UK, whom he was asked to identify. If he did not co-operate, he says, the two British officers would leave the room, during which time he would be beaten. He claims that during these interrogations he was accused of "masterminding" the July 2005 suicide bomb attacks in London. During many of the interrogations, according to Rahman, the MI5 officers would ask him: "We're not torturing you, are we." He would confirm that they were not, and on one occasion he was told to repeat his answer in a louder voice, which he did. Rahman believes that these exchanges were being recorded. Rahman returned to the UK in May last year after his passport was returned by British consular officials in Dhaka. He embarked on legal proceedings once his wife and son were able to join him last week, reports the Guardian. The couple's four-month-old boy remains in Bangladesh, however, as they have not received the British passport for which they applied 12 weeks ago. They say they are deeply concerned for his safety. The Guardian has been reporting for almost four years on allegations that British intelligence officers have been colluding in the torture of British citizens during counter-terrorism investigations, and on the evidence that supports a number of the claims. Lawyers for Rahman, who now lives in Britain, claim to have evidence including eyewitness testimony and medical information. |
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