Show respect to law, human rights: NHRC chairman to RAB

Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Dr Mizanur Rahman on Sunday asked the law enforcers, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), to work sincerely showing respect to the rule of law and human rights. ‘Be careful. Though we’ve not been given the investigating power, but we’re not a paper tiger either. We already proved it through our activities,’ he said addressing the first session of a seminar, ‘Strengthening Police Accountability in Bangladesh: Challenges and strategies’. The NHRC and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), India, jointly organised the seminar at the CIRDAP auditorium in the city. About the alleged involvement of three ex-RAB officers with the abduction and killing of seven people last month in Naryanganj, Dr Mizanur Rahman said that if the policymakers or top officials of RAB had closely worked with the NHRC and also followed the recommendations given by the commission, the gruesome incident might not have occurred. ‘We believe that if the elite force had worked with us closely and also followed our recommendations, they would not have faced the critical moment,’ he said, according to UNB.