Physician Testifies to Extreme Torture at RAB Interrogation Cell Before International Crimes Tribunal
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A physician, Ashik Ul Akbar, provided harrowing testimony on Thursday before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 regarding his detention and torture at the Rapid Action Battalion’s (RAB) Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell during the Awami League administration. Testifying as the sixth witness in a case involving 17 defendants—including 12 current and former military officers—Akbar detailed systematic physical abuse and forced confessions.
Akbar, who was a third-year medical student at Rangpur Prime Medical College in 2016, testified that he was abducted by plainclothes officers from his uncle’s residence in Tongi, Gazipur, on May 23, 2016. He stated that his detention stemmed from his prior association with the Islami Chhatrashibir student organization and his vocal online opposition to the administration of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Describing the conditions of his confinement, the witness said he was kept blindfolded and handcuffed with his hands behind his back at all times. He reported severe restrictions on basic bodily functions, noting that he was allowed only three minutes for restroom breaks and bathing, with frequent beatings for any delays or refusals to eat.
During interrogation sessions, Akbar testified that he was subjected to brutal torture in an attempt to force a confession of ties to militant organizations. He recounted a specific incident where his handcuffs were replaced with a towel looped through a hook, after which he was suspended from a machine. Due to his body weight, the skin under his armpits began to tear, prompting an official to suggest he might die. When he continued to deny the allegations, he was subjected to electric shocks on his earlobes.
Overcome with fear and pain, Akbar ultimately agreed to sign a pre-printed statement provided by his captors. He was also coerced into recording a video confession and surrendering his social media credentials. He later recounted being transported to another location while blindfolded and wearing a bulletproof jacket and helmet, where he was finally unblinded in the presence of media cameras.
Following his disappearance, police filed three fabricated cases against him and three others on July 21, 2016. After two months of enforced disappearance and 13 months of incarceration, Akbar was released on bail following a High Court order. He completed his MBBS degree in 2023 and has now demanded the maximum penalty for Sheikh Hasina, former defense advisor Major General (Retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, the former Home Minister, and the involved RAB personnel.
Ten defendants currently held at a sub-jail in Dhaka Cantonment were produced in court for the proceedings. They include Brigadier General Md Jahangir Alam, Tofael Mostafa Sarwar, Md Kamrul Hassan, Md Mahabub Alam, K M Azad, Colonel Abdullah Al Momen, Anwar Latif Khan, Lieutenant Colonel Md Mashiur Rahman, Saiful Islam, and Md Sarwar Bin Kashem.
Seven other individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, and former RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed, remain at large. Other fugitives in the case include M Khurshid Hossain, Md Harun Or Rashid, and Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Muhammad Khairul Islam.
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