Written by Mahmud Ur Rahman Choudhury, on Aug 6, on a Facebook post.
Most people reading this post will find it difficult to believe the events narrated here but these are entirely true. The events written here are the summarised version of a two-hour interview of Lt Cols Hasin and Zaeed taken by me, in the presence of General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan (retired), who had first hand knowledge of these events. These statements were confirmed by other sources: both serving & retired Army personnel.
Note: These interviews were taken a few months before the Netranews rather sensational βAyna Ghorβ YouTube video.
(1) BA 2611 Lt Col Mohd Hasinur Rahman, BP was commissioned in infantry in June 1984 with the 10 Long Course. Except for brief interludes he spent most of his career from 2nd Lieutenant to Lieutenant Colonel in the Chittagong Hill Tracts(CHT) serving with the Army and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).For his courage and his efforts he was awarded the gallantry award Bir Protik. He gained exceptional knowledge and expertise in jungle warfare, counterinsurgency and insurgency.
As a Lt Col, he commanded an infantry, as well as a BDR battalion in the CHT. In 2009 he was posted as the commanding officer of the Rapid Action Battalion(RAB) at Naikongchori, CHT. While at RAB, Lt Col Hasinur Rahman carried out numerous operations against drug smuggling, arms running, Rohingya militants, and various separatist and insurgent Indian armed groups. Also, he came to know a few powerful Awami League politicians who were involved in all the criminal activities Lt Col Hasin was officially fighting against as the commanding officer of RAB in that area.
In early 2011, Lt Col Hasinur Rahman was posted to Army Training and Doctrine Command (ARTDOC)at Rajendrapur.
On the night of 09 July 2011, Hasin was was called down from his apartment by Lt Col Akhter Hamid Khan, the commanding officer of Army Security Unit. Hamid was a course junior to Hasin. Hamid approached and demanded to talk to Hasin and before he could utter a word Hamid placed a pistol to head of Hasin and asked him to get on the back of a black SUV. As soon as Hasin got in, he was blindfolded and his hands and feet were manacled. Hamid drove to the Army Interrogation Center (AIC) at Dhaka cantonment. There, Hasin was thrown out of the vehicle and dragged into a room and locked up. Hasin was incarcerated and periodically interrogated for 43 days. Later, he was charged with trumped up charges of Islamic militancy, attempted coup etc. A kangaroo court-martial was held; Hasin was dismissed from service and sentenced to 4 years and 3 months of prison. On completion of his prison term, Hasin was released and tried to reassemble his destroyed life. His wife was suffering from cancer and he had 3 young daughters to look after.
In 2018, he rented an apartment at Mirpur DOHS and he and his family moved there. On 08 August 2018, he was again picked up by the DGFI and incarcerated till 22 February 2020 (01 year 06 months). Again he was mentally and physically tortured but this time no charges were brought against him, neither was he produced in court.
Lt Col Hasinur Rahman was targeted because he was privy to the secret criminal activities of powerful Awami League interests in drug and arms smuggling. Hasin also had in-depth knowledge of armed militancy in CHT, sponsored & supported by the DGFI & Awami League.
(2) BA 2639 Lt Col Abdullah Ali Zaeed is a course mate of Lt Col Hasinur Rahman and both of them were posted at the same time at ARTDOC in 2011. Zaeed is married to Lt Col Nazma, AMC, who was at Dhaka CMH. The couple have 3 children, the eldest, a boy, is autistic. The family stayed at an apartment in Dhaka Cantt.
On 10 July 2011, Lt Col Zaeed was on leave. He had just come out of the mosque in his residential area after Maghreb prayers when a black SUV blocked his way. 4 persons jumped out, placed two pistols on two sides of Zaeed and forced him into the SUV, where he was blindfolded and manacled. When Zaeed wanted to know what the matter was, Major Hafiz (Brig) who was one of the captors, boxed Zaeed just below his right eye, tearing apart the skin, which needed 4 stitches to put together. Then the captors enfolded Zaeed in a gunnysack and took him to Army Interrogation Center (AIC). For the next 37 days Lt Col Zaeed was severely physically and mentally tortured. The chief interrogator was Lt Col Azhar(Col). The ASU commanding officer Lt Col Hamid (Col) wanted a confession to the effect that Zaeed was an accomplice of Lt Col Hasinur Rahman. Zaeed refused to provide that confession. After 37 days Zaeed was dumped in a locked room of AHQ extension officers Mess. There, charges similar to Hasinur Rahman were produced. A kangaroo court dismissed Zaeed from service, sentencing him to one year in prison. Lt Col Zaeed was incarcerated without trial for 9 months and 14 days.
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Having provided a summary of events, it is important to bring to the notice of readers the following:
(1) Both Lt Cols Hasin and Zaeed were serving officers when they were subjected to kidnapping and forced incarceration by the Army Security Unit (ASU). The commanding officer ASU Lt Col Akhter Hamid clearly violated military law and committed a crime against humanity when he kidnapped these two officers at gun point, incarcerated them and tortured them.
(2) The ASU is under the operational control of Military Intelligence Directorate which is under the General Staff Branch. The Chief of General Staff(CGS) in 2011/12 was Lt Gen Mohd Mainul Islam. Without the direct authorisation of Brigadier Ridwan Director Military Intelligence (DMI) & CGS such an atrocious act by ASU couldnβt be carried out. The DMI & Lt Gen Mainul Islam both had participated in and abetted a blatant crime.
(3) The Court Martial of Lt Cols Hasin & Zaeed violated every act of Bangladesh Military Law, in that neither of these Officers were allowed to call witnesses or cross examine prosecution witnesses. Neither were they allowed to say what transpired with them before the court martial. The Court Martial had deliberately and blatantly miscarried justice and convicted two innocent officers of crimes they did not commit. The Adjutant General Ashraf Abdullah Yusuf bears responsibility for this.
(3) The entire chain of command from the General Officer commanding ARTDOC, to the CGS and Chief of Army Staff (CAS) General Mubin did nothing to prevent a gross and egregious violation of military law, laws of the land, as well as a violation of every moral and ethical code, whether religious or secular. Two serving officers were kidnapped at gun point, incarcerated and tortured by a security unit under direct command of the CGS and CAS. They are party to the crime committed against these two officers.
(4) When Lt Col Hasinur Rahman was kidnapped on 08 August 2018 and incarcerated by Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) till 22 February 2020, the Director General of DGFI was Maj Gen Mohd Saiful Abedin, who had ordered the kidnapping, incarceration and torture of Lt Col Hasinur Rahman in August 2018. Maj Gen Saiful Abedin has misused his power and office to violate Military Law as well as commit a crime against humanity.
Concluding Remarks.
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As I have explained in my earlier post, in order to establish fascism, Fascists destroy existing institutions and structures of the State. All sense of belongingness and comradeship in family, community and society are broken down. All beliefs systems except Fascism are destroyed. All moral and ethical codes, religious or secular are denied and destroyed. And this is exactly what the Awami League and Sheikh Hasina have done to Bangladesh since 2009. The above are just two examples of how a Fascist State operates through fear and terror. There are numerous such examples, most remaining in the dark, beyond public awareness and knowledge.
Those who commit such terrible atrocities will have to face justice and suffer punishment for their crimes. The longer they evade justice, the harsher will be the penalties imposed on them. There will be no escape, home or abroad. The perpetrators, these monsters in human form will answer for their crimes against humanity.