Around 3:30am, there was a loud bang at the door. As soon as it was opened, 10 to 12 men in plain clothes were standing outside.
The moment he gave his name, a black cloth was placed over his head. He was taken out of the house while being beaten and put into a black microbus.
His eyes were then tightly blindfolded and a ‘jam cap’ was placed over his head.
After around one and a half hours, the microbus stopped at an unknown location. He was then taken inside a building after climbing several steps. He was kept there for around 60 days, blindfolded for 24 hours and handcuffed with both hands behind his back.
Dr Ashik Ul Akbar, a 31-year-old physician, gave his deposition before International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Thursday as the sixth prosecution witness in a case involving allegations of crimes against humanity over enforced disappearances at the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell.
In his testimony, he gave a detailed account of his detention, torture, being forced to write a confession and later being photographed with weapons and other items at the RAB-1 media centre.
Ashik is from Rangpur. In 2016, he was a third-year student at Rangpur Prime Medical College. He was a ‘Sathi’ of Islami Chhatra Shibir and participated in various rallies and meetings against Sheikh Hasina and her government.
On 23 May 2016, Ashik was staying at his maternal uncle’s house in Tongi, Gazipur. He was taken away from there late at night.
According to his account, he was given food three times a day while in captivity. During meals, the handcuff on one hand was removed and the blindfold was lifted slightly. He was taken to the toilet twice a day. He said he was beaten if he wanted to go more frequently.
“I had to eat whatever food was given. If I refused to eat, they would beat me severely,” he said.
Ashik said that one day he was taken to an interrogation room and asked to confess to being involved with an extremist organisation. When he denied the allegation, he was beaten.
His handcuffs were removed and a towel was tied around his hands. A hook was attached to the cloth and he was hung using a machine. At that time, someone whispered, “Sir, he is very heavy, he will die, sir.”
He was also subjected to electric shocks on both earlobes.
Later, fearing further torture, he quickly copied the exact text from a printed document onto a blank sheet of paper and signed it. A video confession of the statement was also recorded.
Ashik told the court that his right eye’s retina was torn after the blindfold was tied very tightly on one occasion.
After around 60 days, he was told that he would be taken home. While his eyes were closed, his hair was cut and his beard was shaved. He was then made to wear a bulletproof jacket. He said the word ‘RAB’ was written on the jacket.
He was taken down from the second floor and put into a microbus. After travelling for around one and a half hours, two people came and asked him to get out of the vehicle. His handcuffs and blindfold were then removed.
After travelling for another one and a half hours, he was taken to the RAB-1 media centre along with three others. The three others were Mahmudul Hasan, Najmus Sakib and Shariatullah Shuvo.
There, various weapons, nuts and bolts and different types of books were taken out of a bag and arranged on a table. They were asked to stand behind the table, after which photographs were taken.
Around 10pm that night, they were taken to the Tongi Police Station.
According to Ashik, the officer-in-charge initially refused to accept the case. Later, after receiving a phone call, the case was accepted.
On 21 July 2016, three cases were filed with the Tongi Police Station against four people, including Ashik, in connection with the same incident.
After the deposition, defence lawyer Mohammad Shahinur Islam cross-examined the witness.
In the case filed against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and current and former army officials over enforced disappearances at the TFI cell as crimes against humanity during the mass uprising, the court has framed five charges. Of the 17 accused in the case, 10 have been arrested.
