Barrister Mir Ahmad Bin Kashem (Arman), the son of deceased Jamaat leader Mir Quasem Ali, has filed a complaint alleging his enforced disappearance.
On behalf of Arman, Supreme Court lawyer Mujahidul Islam Shaheen filed the complaint on Tuesday.
According to the complaint, Barrister Mir Ahmad bin Quasem Arman was forcibly taken from his residence in Mirpur DOHS on August 4, 2016, around 9 PM. He was kept in an old isolated cell for 16 days.
The complaint states that a couple of months after the abduction, a guard came to him one night and informed him that a decision was made to kill him. However, the high-ranking officer, who made the decision to kill Arman, was killed in Sylhet in a terrorist attack. As a result, the murder plan was delayed.
Arman stated in the complaint, “The was an interrogation room close to the place where I was kept. I could hear faint sounds of crying from that room. I couldn’t sleep due to the cries of those being tortured. I was kept there for 8 years. During this time, I was not exposed to any natural light or air. They maintained strict secrecy to ensure that no information about the detention facility was leaked. They did not tell us where we were nor did they tell us what would happen to us.”
“They did not allow me to hear anything outside. Whenever there was a call to prayer from a nearby mosque, they would play loud music to prevent me from distinguishing between day and night. Even when I asked about the time of prayer, they never told me. They used to say that they were given this order. Sometimes I could hear the cries of other detainees as they could not tolerate the torture. However, it was impossible to talk to others. As a detainee, I was not provided with sufficient food,” the complaint further added.
The complaint also stated, "They never told me where I was nor did they tell me anything regarding the date or time. Only when the month of Ramadan arrived, they would inform me. The security personnel would tell me, 'You may start offering Tarawih prayers, the moon has been sighted; you’ll be given food for Sehri.' They would give food at Sehri time and tell me to eat. When the time was over, they would announce that I should stop eating. During Iftar, they would provide food and tell me to eat only when they gave the signal. I had to pray with handcuffs on, making Ruku with one hand and Sujud with the other."
“At the second torture cell, the torture became more systematic. Sometimes, high-ranking officials would come for inspections. After their arrival, I had to sit facing the wall, and I wasn’t allowed to move. I spent the entire day facing the wall. My life was filled with indescribable pain and suffering. For the living, this detention was like a grave. The detainees were tortured in a systematic manner to give them an experience that is even worse than death.”
The complaint also stated, "From their regulations and strictness, it seemed that they were army personnel or officers. Without the permission of the government, it would not be possible to detain so many people day after day or year after year."
In his complaint, Arman said he could distinctly hear three things while being detained. First, the sound of airplanes landing, second, the sound of trains, and third, the loud sound of vehicles passing by. He also sensed the presence of non-Bangladeshi individuals and heard them speaking in foreign languages.
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