A number of members of a Bangladesh anti-crime unit accused of human rights abuses travelled to the UK in 2022 to obtain safety coaching, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) studies.
Members of the Speedy Motion Battalion (RAB), a legislation enforcement unit dubbed a “loss of life squad” by human rights organisations, went to the UK in Could and October 2022 for a cybersecurity course and coaching on using mass surveillance gear.
The instruction by British legislation enforcement consultants occurred regardless of the RAB being sanctioned by the USA for its alleged involvement in human rights abuses equivalent to extrajudicial killings and compelled disappearances.
Information of the RAB’s UK coaching led Al Jazeera’s I-Unit to find that the UK had reversed a call to hitch the US in imposing sanctions on the police unit in 2021. It’s unclear why the UK authorities determined to not sanction the RAB.
If it had, the 2022 coaching journeys would probably haven’t occurred, however the sanctions have been inexplicably not applied by the UK regardless of the US doing so.
“RAB is popping to US accomplice nations to get the type of coaching and instruments and sources that they must be a extra ‘efficient’ drive again at house in Bangladesh. And by efficient, I imply that they’re going to additional have interaction in repression in Bangladesh,” mentioned Amanda Strayer, supervising employees lawyer for accountability at human rights NGO Human Rights First.
The I-Unit approached the UK International, Commonwealth and Improvement Workplace to ask about its data of those trainings, presenting a doc that the FCDO responded had “by no means been shared with the Excessive Fee and the UK Authorities was not conscious of it”.
In line with the doc reviewed by Al Jazeera and introduced to the FCDO, the British Excessive Fee in Dhaka was knowledgeable of the RAB members’ journeys by the use of communication from the Bangladeshi overseas ministry.
Cybersecurity and surveillance
In Could, no less than 5 officers travelled to the UK to obtain a Cyber Incident Response Administration Basis Coaching Course and a Cyber Safety Practitioner Coaching Course from Irish firm IT Governance, in response to the paperwork.
The coaching came about over a number of days and value greater than 15,000 euros ($15,800) in complete, an bill despatched to RAB exhibits.
In October, no less than six members acquired coaching within the use of a backpack IMSI catcher, a transportable mass surveillance device that acts as a mini-mobile telephone tower and may intercept telephone calls and textual content messages.
“They’re used to intercept communications … which principally prohibits any type of freedom of speech,” Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch’s South Asia director, instructed Al Jazeera. “In Bangladesh, individuals have died in custody for Fb posts they made.”
“This highlights the actual threat that the UK, the EU, and Canada are going through after they don’t take part on these types of sanctions, as a result of the entities and the people that have been sanctioned by the US will flip to their jurisdiction and can discover the sorts of instruments and coaching and sources,” Strayer instructed Al Jazeera.
“Possibly they’ll not get it from the US, however they’ll get it from the EU and so they can get it from the UK. They usually can take these again to their nation to additional their repression there.”
Caught within the crossfire?
The Speedy Motion Battalion was based in 2004 and has since been linked to many abuses in studies by human rights organisations.
When the US sanctioned the RAB and 7 present and former high-ranking officers in December 2021, it cited proof the battalion was concerned in no less than 600 compelled disappearances since 2009 and greater than 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018.
The Bangladesh authorities denied the accusations, saying the deaths have been the results of individuals being caught in so-called “crossfires” throughout shootouts between RAB officers and legal gangs.
In response to questions requested by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit, the UK FCDO mentioned: “The UK is a number one advocate for human rights all over the world and we frequently elevate human rights points instantly with different governments, together with Bangladesh”.
IT Governance has not responded to Al Jazeera’s questions on offering coaching to the RAB by the point this text was printed.
The RAB has additionally not responded to any questions requested by Al Jazeera.