WikiLeaks cables: Bangladeshi 'death squad' trained by UK government

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Rapid Action Batallion, accused of hundreds of extra-judicial killings, received training from UK officers, cables reveal

Fariha Karim and Ian Cobain | Tuesday December 21 2010 21.30 GMT

The British government has been training a Bangladeshi paramilitary force condemned by human rights organisations as a "government death squad", leaked US embassy cables have revealed.

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), which has been held responsible for hundreds of extra-judicial killings in recent years and is said to routinely use torture, have received British training in "investigative interviewing techniques" and "rules of engagement".

Details of the training were revealed in a number of cables, released by WikiLeaks, which address the counter-terrorism objectives of the US and UK governments in Bangladesh. One cable makes clear that the US would not offer any assistance other than human rights training to the RAB – and that it would be illegal under US law to do so – because its members commit gross human rights violations with impunity.

Since the RAB was established six years ago, it is estimated by some human rights activists to have been responsible for more than 1,000 extra-judicial killings, described euphemistically as "crossfire" deaths. In September last year the director general of the RAB said his men had killed 577 people in "crossfire". In March this year he updated the figure, saying they had killed 622 people.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/21/wikileaks-cables-british-police-bangladesh-death-squad

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A lot more detail and some embedded links to the cables at the main story.

[Arctic Dave]

1. Very good article. nt

[Frisbee]

2. Well that will probably help the British Government decide...

whether or not to Extradite Julian to the US.

[glinda]

3. I keep thinking that. He really needs the help of some huge human rights org.

[Enrique]

4. Wikeleaks: UK trains Bangladesh death squads

Source: CBS News

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20026359-503543.html

A Bangladeshi paramilitary force described by human rights organizations as a government death squad and eyed by the United States and the United Kingdom as part of their counterterrorism strategies received training from the British government.

The Rapid Action Battalion, or RAB, might have received training from the U.S. government had diplomats not noted that it was illegal to assist groups with such poor human rights records, the Guardian newspaper of London reported Tuesday evening.

(...)

The cables show that the U.S. and U.K. governments wanted to strengthen the battalion in order to reinforce counterterrorism operations in Bangladesh, the Guardian reported.

The British government's training for RAB officers began three years ago, the Guardian reported. Soldiers received training in "investigative interviewing techniques" and "rules of engagement", the Guardian reported.

Human rights activists estimate that the RAB has been behind more than 1,000 illegal deaths since it was formed six years ago, the Guardian reported. Battalion members have also been accused of using torture. Human Rights Watch described the RAB to the Guardian as a government death squad.

(...)

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20026359-503543.html

[xchrom]

5. and people think nothing substantial has been reported by wikileaks. nt

[Uncle Joe]

6. As if Bangladesh didn't have enough problems.

U.S. Ambassador James Moriarty described the battalion in a secret cable as the "enforcement organization best positioned to one day become a Bangladeshi version of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation".

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20026359-503543....

Thanks for the thread, Enrique.

[AlphaCentauri]

9. Now we know what the elites won't want to be public domain n/t

[struggle4progress]

7. Rab men share experience with British Police (Daily Star 2008)

Published On: 2008-03-17
Star City
Quest for a better outlook on human rights
Rab men share experience with British Police
City Correspondent

... An interactive training course on human rights for the members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) concluded Thursday. Starting from March 2, the 12-day training was held at the Rab headquarters in the city.

The British High Commission and Rab Forces Headquarters jointly arranged the training where 54 Rab officials participated. Experts from British police gave training to the Rab members, said sources at the Rab headquarters ...

“Some of their ways and techniques are different from us. They interrogate a criminal in the presence of a defense lawyer. One doctor is posted to each police station to attend criminal in case she/he falls sick. These are fresh things for us in treating a criminal or a suspect,” said an official ...

Commander AK Azad, director of Rab's legal and media wing, said that different training courses are being arranged for Rab forces at home and abroad on a regular basis on interrogation, cyber crime, criminal investigation, intelligence work, forensic investigation and human rights ...

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=28031

[struggle4progress]

8. Special training for Rab (Bangladesh2day October 2009)

30 October, 2009

Special training for Rab
Staff correspondent

A five-day training on 'crime scene management' given to 21 officials of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) by British forensic experts ended yesterday.

British High Commission in Dhaka organised the training at the Rab headquarters in Uttara aiming to increase knowledge to the participants on the specialised field.

The experts from the National Policing Improvements Agency in the UK trained the participants on protection and preservation of a crime scene that is important for the criminal investigations ...

http://bangladesh2day.com/newsfinance/2009/October/30/Special-training-for-Rab.php