HRW urges PM to disband RAB

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Bangladesh government to disband Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), a crime busting unit of Bangladesh police. In a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the HRW said the government should take steps to disband the paramilitary force. Until it is disbanded, RAB should be made into an entirely civilian force by withdrawing all military officers and soldiers from its membership, the global rights watchdog said on Monday. It says evidence is there that RAB officers were responsible for the abduction and contract killings of 7 men on April 27 in Narayanganj have provoked outrage in Bangladesh and are yet another example of how the unit has operated as a death squad. ‘The Bangladeshi government has promised to reform RAB and hold it accountable, but it has utterly failed,’ said Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW. He said, ‘The lack of accountability has allowed the RAB to run amok. RAB is beyond reform and should swiftly be abolished,’ it advocated, according to a news agency.