BANGLADESH: Teacher’s whereabouts unknown for three months, since his abduction by officers

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Yasin Mohammad Abdus Samad Talukder remains disappeared since 14 July 2016. On that day, personnel claiming to be law-enforcement officers picked him up as he was sitting waiting in his car. Yasin was waiting for his cousin to arrive at the Kakoli bus stop near the Defence Officers Housing Society (DOHS) Banani, in Dhaka City. They were to join a wedding ceremony together. Yasin’s car was found abandoned there. His whereabouts is still unknown.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Mr. Yasin Mohammad Abdus Samad Talukder, a British citizen of Bangladeshi origin, who is a teacher of physics at an international school in Dhaka, was abducted on 14 July 2016 from Kakoli bus stop near the Defense Officers Housing Society (DOHS) Banani, Dhaka. As per eyewitness statements, men dressed in civilian clothes claiming to be members of a law enforcement agency picked him up at 11:45 a.m. Yasin Talukder was waiting in his private car at the Kakoli bus stand to take his cousin to the wedding ceremony. Witnesses who requested that their names not be disclosed said that a black microbus came and parked briefly beside Yasin’s car and three men in civilian clothes forced him out of his car into the microbus and left. When this was happening, Yasin was on the phone with his cousin and the latter could hear the commotion and his shouts as he was being grabbed.

A group of local shopkeepers and bystanders witnessed this incident. Those who witnessed the incident have claimed to recognize the abductors (as they regularly carry out arrests in the area); they stated that these men were from the law enforcement agencies like the DB (Detective Branch) and the RAB (Rapid Action Battalion). The witnesses asserted that similar incidents had happened in the same neighborhood, and no one other than the law-enforcement agencies are involved in such abductions. The witnesses wished to remain anonymous due to fear of harassment by the authorities.

Dr. Suraya P. Talukder, mother of the disappeared Yasin Muhammad Abdus Samad Talukder, lodged a General Diary (GD) Entry with the Bhashantek Police Station on 14 July 2016 (GD Number: 483, accepted by Sub Inspector of Police Mr. Sarwar Jahan, whose cell phone number is +8801672134469). Since then Dr. Suraya has repeatedly approached police and the Rapid Action Battalion for getting her son’s whereabouts, with no avail.

A person claiming to be an officer of the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) came to Yasin’s house with inquiries about Yasin two days after Yasin was abducted. He did not show any authorization paper or official document about the enquiry. He was only carrying the Biometric Re-registration form of Yasin’s mobile phone. He refused to give any information regarding Yasin’s abduction or whereabouts to Yasin’s family.

Dr. Suraya P. Talukder learned from a report published in vernacular daily, Prothom Alo, on 12 July 2016, that Yasin had been named an accomplice in a case involving some youth, on 9 February 2016, at the Shahbag Police Station, Dhaka. She claimed that this must be a mistake, as Yasin used to follow a very simple and straightforward lifestyle. The next day Dr. Suraya obtained a copy of the FIR (First Information Report) from Shahbag Police Station. There was a similar report, quoting police sources, in the daily Jugantor on 30 July 2016, stating Yasin to be still missing.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has checked the complaint registered with the Shahbag Police Station of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on 9 February 2016. Mr. Abul Bashar, Sub Inspector of the Detective Branch (DB) of the DMP registered the complaint as First Information Report (FIR) number 92. In the complaint, the police officer named “Yasin Talukder” among the ‘fugitives’, allegedly suspected to have been involvement in militancy. However, the complaint did not have any specification about the said “Yasin Talukder” or other personal details and address.

Yasin’s family confirms that he has never before gone missing or stayed away from home till his abduction on 14 July 2016.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Yasin completed B.Sc. Engineering from London between 2001 and 2005. Later, he was admitted for an M.S. in Engineering but he did not continue after falling victim to a violent mugging incident in 2005, which resulted in severe shock to Yasin. He returned to Bangladesh in 2006, and was living in Dhaka with his mother.

Yasin was employed as a teacher of O-Level Physics in Dhaka; he was unable to hold down a full-time job. He developed interactive multimedia teaching lessons in physics for O-Level students for a fee. In the last 10 years he had taught over 3,000 students.

Yasin’s mother claimed that he is an absolutely humble and non-aggressive person and very respectful to everyone around him. He would spend most of his time either in his classes or with family and had never left home except when he was doing his undergraduate studies in London (at that time their daughter was also in London). He looked after his father who was suffering from leukemia, for about two years till his father died.

According to Yasin’s mother,

“Yasin is a truthful person and is absolutely guiltless and harmless. I am very confident that my son cannot do any heinous act and the authorities have made a serious mistake here. I appeal for all kinds of assistance and that the Bangladesh Police establish the whereabouts and fate of my disappeared son. As the authorities have him in custody, they must release him immediately or produce him in a court of law if any charges are to be filed against him. If any charges are filed, the Bangladesh and British government should ensure that a proper investigation is done for a fair trial. My son is not a felonious person, I know he is innocent.”

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Bangladeshi authorities to stop the practice of disappearing citizens. Kindly insist that they return any disappeared persons being held incommunicado. The authorities must be held responsible for continued enforced disappearances, which is a “crime against humanity,’”under international law.

The AHRC has already submitted a communication to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances calling for their intervention in this matter.

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