19 opposition activists disappeared in Dhaka, over 2 weeks

Over the last week, the New Age newspaper has published a series of articles investigating the abduction of 19 Dhaka based opposition activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, in a two week period at the end of 2013.

All these abductions took place between 28 November and 11 December. None of these men have been returned.

The New Age reports investigate each incidents and sets out eye-witness testimony which support the allegation that all these men were abducted by law enforcement agencies.

These disappearances are only a relatively small fraction of the total disappearances that have taken place in Bangladesh - but these are remarkable in that they are all opposition political activists/supporters, all have been taken from a single city, and all have been taken in a short period of time.

The final article is important. The law minister says that he will investigate these incidents. It is an important commitment, but whether it will be kept is another matter. Lets see

Below are the links to each of these articles: First, on the New Age website, and Secondly, at the bottom of the page, on this blog (if the New Age website articles do not load)

1.    Introductory Article        

       Picked up a year ago, they are yet to return 

2.    Five men picked up on the 28 November 2013 outside Dhaka Central Jail   

       How it all began    

3.   Four men picked upon on 2 December 2013 in Shahbag       

      Birthday parties that did not take place

4.   Six men picked up on 4 December 2013 at Bashundara Residential Area  

      They picked up 6 at Bashundara and drove off

5.   Two men picked on 5 December 2013 morning from Shahinbagh       

      Two picked up but promise to return not kept

6.  Two men picked up on 6 December 2013 from Mollatek      

      2 taken from area close to airport

7.  Two men picked on late night of 7th December 2013 from Sonargaon      

     An unexpected end to a weekend in Sonargaon 

8.   1 man picked up on 11 Dec from Mirpur       

      Last abduction taken from family home 

9.   Human Rights organizations condemn enforced disappearances       

      Rights groups decry disappearances 

10. Law minister agrees to investigate these disappearances       

      I will investigate allegation about 19 disappearances: Law minister

Links to the same articles on this blog

1.   Picked up a year ago … 
2.   How it all ….
3.   Birthday parties that …
4.   They picked up 6 ...
5.   Two picked up but promise ….
6.   Two taken from area …
7.   Unexpected end to ….
8.   Last abduction taken ….
9.   Rights group decry ….
10. I will investigation allegation ….

'I will investigate allegation about 19 disappearances: law minister'

Article published in New Age on 4 December 2014

This is the last of the series of articles published in New Age investigating the disappearances of  19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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I will investigate allegation about 19 disappearances: law minister 

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid

The Bangladesh law minister has told New Age he will take responsibility to investigate what happened to the 19 Dhaka-based opposition activists who were, according to eye-witnesses, abducted by law enforcing agencies this time last year.
‘Whatever the truth is, I will find it,’ he said.

'Rights groups decry disappearances'

Article published in New Age on 28 November 2014

This is the seventh in a series of articles published in New Age investigating the disappearances of  19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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Rights groups decry disappearances

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid

Human rights organisations have condemned the alleged state involvement in the abduction of 19 opposition student activists that took place a year ago, and called for an independent judicial inquiry to be established.
On Friday, New Age published the names of 19 opposition activists abducted in eight separate incidents in Dhaka over a two-week period starting on 28 November 2013, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Sultana Kamal, the executive director of the country’s largest human rights non-governmental organisation said that any enforced disappearance should be condemned but there was ‘all the more reason to be concerned when those disappeared are overwhelmingly members of the opposition.’

'Last abduction, taken from the family home'

Article published in New Age on 4 December 2014

This is the eight in a series of articles published in New Age investigating the disappearances of  19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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Last abduction, taken from the family home 

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid 

The last in the sequence of pick-ups of opposition party activists in Dhaka over a two week period at the end of 2013 was the disappearance on December 11 of Selim Reza Pintu from his brother’s flat in Pallabi.
Over the last week, New Age has reported on seven separate incidents of abduction involving the disappearance of 18 people, all of them opposition activists or supporters, allegedly undertaken by state agencies.
The abduction of Pintu, the president of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s student wing in the Sutrapur part of Old Dhaka, brings to 19 the total number of disappearances in the fortnight.

'Unexpected end to a weekend in Sonargaon'

Article published in New Age on 3 December 2014

This is the seventh in a series of articles published in New Age investigating the disappearances of  19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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Unexpected end to a weekend in Sonargaon 

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid

On Saturday the December 7, 2013, Mahabub Hasan Sujon, the president of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party student wing in Shabujbagh Thana in Dhaka and Kazi Farhad, the president of one of its wards, were staying at a farmhouse in Sonargaon.
The two were planning to return the following day to their rented flat in Fakirerpool, Dhaka, which they then shared with some other senior Chhatral Dal leaders.
They had come to the farmhouse at Noakandi village in Shanmandi Union two days earlier.
‘On Thursday morning, Sujon told me that the place where he lived was really risky,’ said Azad Md Sadequl Islam, a member of the family which owned the farmhouse.
‘He knew I used to go down to my farmhouse in Sonargoan between Thursday and Saturday, so Sujon asked if he could come and stay,’ Azad continued. ‘It was agreed he would leave Dhaka that morning.’

'Two taken from area close to airport'

Article published in New Age on 2 December 2014

This is the sixth in a series of articles published in New Age investigating the disappearances of  19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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2 taken from area close to airport 

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid

It was ten o’clock at night on Friday, December 6, 2013 and things were quiet at Mollartek’s bazaar, located near Dhaka’s international airport.
One of the few shops open was a small launderette run by Md Jasim Uddin.
At that time Jasim was not at his laundry. An hour or so earlier he had asked someone else to look after his business so that he could carry out some family chore.
Sitting on a motorbike in front of the launderette, talking to some friend was Jasim’s friend, Tariqul Islam Jhantu, 28, the joint secretary of the student wing of the opposition Bangladesh National Party at Tejagon College.
On his way home, Jamal an owner of a business down the road, walked past the laundry and mentioned to Jhantu that it was late and he should get back home, as things were ‘tense’. The BNP student activist however was having none of it. Jamal walked on to his house.

'Two picked up, but promise to return not kept'

Article published in New Age on 1 December 2014

This is the fifth in a series of articles published in New Age investigating the disappearances of  19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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Two picked up, but promise to return not kept 

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid

On the night of December 4, 2013, Adnan Chowdhury, a member of Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s volunteer front Jatiyatabadi Swechchasebok Dal, heard that his senior political colleague, Sajedul Islam Sumon, had been picked up earlier that night by law enforcement authorities.
‘After work he went to Sumon’s family house and returned home at about 12.30 am. He freshened up and had some dinner,’ Adnan’s wife, Marjina Sultana Tonni, told New Age.
Adnan, 28, lived in Shahinbagh with his wife and parents, in a tin shed house about 5 minutes walk from Sumon’s.
His father, 65 year old retired teacher Ruhul Amin Chowdhury was woken up at around 2 am by a knock on the door. ‘I asked who was there,’ Chowdhury said. ‘And a man said that he was from the administration. I hesitated to open the door, but he said that I had to open it.’

'They picked up 6 at Bashundhara and drove off'

Article published in New Age on 30 November 2014

This is the forth in a series of articles published in New Age investigating the disappearances of  19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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They picked up 6 at Bashundhara and drove off 

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid 

On the evening of 4 December 2013, Sajedul Islam Sumon, 36, the general secretary of BNP ward 38 in Shahinbagh thana, was standing by the side of a stony pathway next to an under-construction building of Block-I in Bashundhara residential area in Dhaka, chatting with his cousin, Zahidul Islam Tanvir, 33.
Four friends, Mazharul Islam Russel, 26, Asaduzzaman Rana, 27, Al Amin, 26, and Abdul Quader Bhuiyan Masum, 22, all of them involved with BNP’ student wing, had just met with these two cousins, and were walking back along Road-4 to the main road in Block-I.
All of a sudden, three vehicles arrived, picked up the four men putting them into one of the vehicles and drove back to come to a stop beside Tanvir and Sumon.
‘One of the cars was a black pickup, the ones usually used by RAB, and the two others were white Hiace microbuses,’ a construction worker who lived on the site at the time, told New Age. He said that there were ‘letters’ on the side of the vehicle but he could not read them.

'Birthday parties that did not take place'

Article published in New Age on 29 November 2014

This is the third in a series of articles published in New Age investigating the disappearances of 19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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Birthday parties that did not take place 

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid 

Monday, 2 December 2013 was supposed to be a day of celebrations in the house of 35-year old Mahfuzur Rahman Sohel, the vice-president of the Bangshal thana Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
It was his son’s 14th birthday, and the family had a party planned for later that day.
Instead, a few hours before the celebrations were due to start, he was picked up as he was standing outside a tea house at Shahbagh along with three fellow activists, by men in plain clothes and was put into a white microbus.

'How all it began'

Article published in New Age on 28 November 2014

This is the second in a series of articles published in New Age investigating the disappearances of  19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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How all it began 

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid

A series of disappearances of 19 BNP activists and supporters in a two-week period in Dhaka started on 28 November 2013 when five men were picked up from outside Dhaka Central Jail just after 1:00pm.All of the men came from Sutrapur in the Old Dhaka.
New Age has tracked down two direct witnesses of the ‘arrest’ of the five men and they both confirm that it was done by law enforcement personnel, though they could not say for sure which state agency was involved.
Three of the five men taken away were released 11 days later but have been unwilling to speak to New Age.
The two men whose whereabouts remain unknown are Samarat Molla, 27, the organising secretary of Chhatra Dal at Sutrapur and Khaled Hasan Sohel, 27, who was president of the thana’s ward 79.

'Picked up a year ago, they’re yet to return'

Article published in New Age on 28 November 2014

This is the first in a series of articles published in New Age investigating disappearances of 19 opposition activists that took place in or around Dhaka in a two week period in Nov/Dec 2013. To see the full series, go here

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Picked up a year ago, they’re yet to return

David Bergman and Muktadir Rashid

Witnesses to the abductions a year ago of 19 Dhaka-based opposition student activists provide evidence of the involvement of the state agencies, an investigation by New Age reveals.