Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a letter to the Prime Minister has renewed its demand for disbanding the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to end what the New York-based watchdog called culture of custodial killings with impunity.
The international rights organisation held the elite force responsible for approximately 800 killings over the past 10 years.
"Until it is disbanded, RAB should be made into an entirely civilian force by withdrawing all military officers and soldiers from its membership," HRW said in the letter Monday.
According to the letter, RAB's image within Bangladesh is all-time low following allegations that its officers were involved in the contract killing of seven men in Narayanganj in April 2014, allegedly on behalf of a ruling-party member.
Hailing the government's commitment to investigate these allegations and bring the responsible to justice it said the force has been allowed to operate "with impunity" by successive governments, including those presided over by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which created RAB in 2004, the subsequent military-backed caretaker regime, and since 2009, the Awami League (AL).
"The Bangladeshi government has promised to reform RAB and hold it accountable, but it has utterly failed," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
"The lack of accountability has allowed the Rapid Action Battalion to run amok. RAB is beyond reform and should swiftly be abolished," he said in the plea.
It is mentioned in the latter that the HRW also investigated 10 cases where individuals were illegally arrested by people who witnesses claim identified themselves as police or RAB.
"In seven of the ten cases the victims' bodies have been found, often by the roadside. The others have disappeared. These cases and others are the reason Human Rights Watch calls RAB a "death squad," the letter reads.
Although Bangladeshi government claims that almost 2,000 RAB members have been punished for various misdemeanors since its inception, "not a single RAB member has been prosecuted for extrajudicial executions, torture, or arbitrary arrests before the Narayanganj incident". Even in this high-profile case, investigations have stalled and it is feared that senior officials responsible will escape accountability, the HRW letter said.
"We do not believe that RAB can be reformed. It has developed a culture of operating above the law without civilian accountability. It must be disbanded so that the killings come to an end," it added.
