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Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem

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Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem
Born
Dhaka
Other namesArman
Occupations
  • Barrister
  • human rights activist
Known forVictim of Enforced Disappearance (between 2016-2024)
FatherMir Quasem Ali

Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman (Bengali: মীর আহমাদ বিন কাসেম আরমান), also known as Mir Ahmad, is a Bangladeshi born British-trained barrister and human rights activist. He was a victim of enforced disappearance and was believed to have been abducted by security forces of the government of Bangladesh.[1] He is the son of late Mir Quasem Ali, a prominent leader of the opposition Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and was a member of his father's legal defence team before his abduction.[2][3][4]

According to a whistleblower report, it was believed that Mir Ahmad was detained at a Bangladeshi secret detention center known as Aynaghar.[5] He was released on August 06, 2024, in Dhaka. Pictures after his release showed that he had lost considerable weight.[6]

Education and career

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He completed his Bar Vocational Course (BVC) from Inns of Court School of Law (ICSL) and was called to the Bar of England and Wales, becoming Barrister.[7] He had completed his L.L.B (Hons.) from the University of London.[8]

At the time of his abduction in 2016, Mir Ahmad was representing his father Mir Quasem Ali as part of the latter's defence team in the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh set up in 2010.[7]

Abduction

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Mir Ahmad was reportedly snatched from in front of his family members at his house in Mirpur, Dhaka during the night on 9 August 2016.

According to a statement by Mir Ahmad's lawyers on the occasion of the third anniversary of his abduction, a group of 8 or 9 men entered Mir Ahmad's apartment at 11 pm on 9 August 2016 and demanded his whereabouts from his family.  Mir Ahmad then went to the door, when he was told that he had to come with them. He was given 5 minutes with his family after which the men stormed into the apartment, and Mir Ahmad was pulled and grabbed away from his family, and dragged down the stairs and out of the house. He was then placed in a mini-bus which was driven away. According to the statement by the lawyers, "this abduction followed the exact modus operandi of other abductions by the security forces in Bangladesh."[2]

The same statement states that Mir Ahmad had been previously visited and questioned by several members of Rapid Action Battalion earlier on 5 August 2016.

Release

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Mir Ahmad was released on 6 August, 2024, the very next day after Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled Bangladesh following popular protests.[9] Pictures shared on social media by family members showed him embracing his mother and two daughters.[10][11] Two lawyers, Michael Polak and Toby Cadman, who had long advocated for his release through various campaigns, expressed their joy on receiving the news.[6][12]

Statements by Human Rights organisations

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Several international human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported on his abduction and called for his release. Amnesty has said that Mir Ahmad was "arrested without a warrant by men in plainclothes on 9 August. He has been held incommunicado ever since, and has not been charged with any crime."[3]

Human Rights Watch, in a report, claimed that Mir Ahmad was abducted by men who said that they were "members of the administration," without specifying which part of the security forces they belonged to. Despite asking them to produce a warrant, the men dragged Mir Ahmed away, saying that they "did not need a[n arrest] warrant."[4]

The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances urged the government of Bangladesh to "immediately reveal whereabouts ... of all victims of enforced disappearance in Bangladesh," including that of Mir Ahmad.[13] In August 2021, Human Rights Watch released a 57-page report titled “‘Where No Sun Can Enter’: A Decade of Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh,” where they noted that Mir Ahmad was among 86 victims of enforced disappearance in Bangladesh who were still missing.[14]

News of Abduction in International Media

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On Al-Jazeera's Head to Head programme broadcast on 1 March 2019, Mir Ahmad's lawyer Michael Polak asked a question on Mir Ahmad's abduction case to Bangladeshi Foreign Affairs Advisor Mr Gowher Rizvi while the latter was being interviewed by show host Mehdi Hasan. Mr. Rizvi assured that investigations into all allegations of enforced disappearance would be carried out, and that he would personally assist in Mir Ahmad's case.[2][15]

Foreign Policy has reported on the abduction of Mir Ahmad while discussing enforced disappearances in Bangladesh.[16]

David Bergman, in an investigative report written for The Wire, has claimed that Mir Ahmad may have been abducted on direct orders of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina is said to have given Bangladesh's military intelligence agency Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) “clearance” to illegally pick up Mir Ahmad, as part of the government's widening crackdown on the country's opposition.[17]

Mir Ahmad's case also made international headlines when Channel 4 news presenter Alex Thomson asked Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddique, the niece of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whether she would use her influence with the Bangladeshi government to help free Mir Ahmad in Bangladesh.[18][19]

An article by Agence France-Presse (AFP), cited by Yahoo News, features an interview with a Bangladeshi lawyer who recounts the circumstances surrounding Mir Ahmad's disappearance and alleges direct involvement from the highest levels of the Bangladeshi government.[20][21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bangladesh must act on its 'disappeared'". The Guardian. 28 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Third Anniversary of Mir Ahmad bin Quasem's Abduction". Free Arman - Ahmad Bin Quasem. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Bangladesh: Halt imminent execution of Mir Quasem Ali after unfair trial". Amnesty International Australia. 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  4. ^ a b "Bangladesh: Man Released From Long Secret Detention". Human Rights Watch. 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  5. ^ "Former Detainees Describe Secret Prison in Bangladesh". VOA. Voice of America. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Bangladesh: Barrister abducted eight years ago reemerges a day after Sheikh Hasina flees". Middle East Eye. MEE. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Barrister abducted without trace for two years". Counsel Magazine. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Profile". Linkedin.
  9. ^ "Sons of Ghulam Azam and Mir Quasem released". The Daily Star. 7 August 2024. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Azmi, Mir freed from 'Aynaghar'". businesspostbd.com. 6 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Former Brigadier Azmi and Barrister Arman freed from 'Aynaghor'". Daily Sun. 6 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Bangladesh: Barrister abducted eight years ago reemerges a day after Sheikh Hasina flees". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  13. ^ "OHCHR | UN expert group urges Bangladesh to stop enforced disappearances". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  14. ^ "Bangladesh: 86 Victims of Enforced Disappearance Still Missing; UN Should Ban Death Squad from Peacekeeping Missions". Human Rights Watch. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  15. ^ Digital, C. H. C. (11 March 2019). "Church Court Chambers | Michael Polak on Al Jazeera's Head to Head to Demand Release of Disappeared Barrister". churchcourtchambers.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  16. ^ McPherson, Poppy. "Bangladesh Is Vanishing The Opposition". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  17. ^ "Sheikh Hasina Complicit in Secret Detentions by Bangladesh Intelligence, Says Source". The Wire. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  18. ^ Polak, Michael (2017-12-04). "Why will Tulip Siddiq not speak out on Bangladesh's 'disappeared' innocents? | Michael Polak". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  19. ^ Tulip Siddiq: MP quizzed over abducted man in Bangladesh, 28 November 2017, retrieved 2020-01-19
  20. ^ "Disappeared Bangladeshi Lawyer Recounts Hasina's Involvement". Yahoo News. AFP. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  21. ^ AFP News Agency (2024-08-15). Disappeared Bangladeshi lawyer recounts Hasina's secret jail | AFP. Retrieved 2024-09-02 – via YouTube.
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