Bangladeshi Barrister Freed After Eight Years in Secret Detention Amid Sheikh Hasina’s Regime: A Story of Survival

Blindfolded, handcuffed, and dragged out of his secret prison for the first time in eight years, Bangladeshi barrister Ahmad Bin Quasem held his breath, anticipating the crack of a gun. Instead, he was unceremoniously thrown from a car and into a muddy ditch on the outskirts of Dhaka—alive, free, and utterly unaware of the national turmoil that had led to his sudden release. “It was the first time I had fresh air in eight years,” Quasem, 40, told AFP. “I thought they were going to kill me.”

Throughout his lengthy incarceration, Quasem was confined in windowless solitary confinement and shackled around the clock. He had been held in the Aynaghar facility, operated by army intelligence, its name derived from the fact that detainees were never supposed to see anyone but themselves.

Inside the detention centre, guards played loud music all day to drown out the Islamic call to prayer from nearby mosques. This made it impossible for Quasem, a devout Muslim, to know when to pray or to track how much time had passed since his abduction.

When the music was turned off, Quasem could hear the distressing sounds of other prisoners. “Gradually, I realised I was not alone,” he recounted. “I heard people crying, people being tortured, people screaming.”

According to Human Rights Watch, over 600 enforced disappearances had been reported since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took office in 2009. While rumours of a secret detention site circulated, Aynaghar remained largely unknown until a 2022 whistle-blower report revealed its existence. The Hasina government has consistently denied the facility’s existence and any involvement in enforced disappearances, suggesting instead that some missing individuals had drowned in the Mediterranean while attempting to reach Europe.

Quasem’s ordeal began shortly before his father, Mir Quasem Ali, a senior figure in the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was executed. Ali was on trial at the time, accused of leading a paramilitary group that tortured pro-independence Bangladeshis during the 1971 liberation war. Quasem, a barrister trained in London and then 32 years old, was defending his father. One night, plainclothes men raided his home, abducted him from his family, and forced him into a car.

His father was executed four weeks later. Quasem only learned of his father’s death about three years later when one of his jailers inadvertently revealed the news.

Who Was Ahmad Bin Quasem?

Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman, commonly known as Mir Ahmad, is a Bangladeshi-born barrister trained in the UK and a human rights activist. He was a victim of enforced disappearance, believed to have been abducted by Bangladesh’s security forces. Mir Ahmad is the son of the late Mir Quasem Ali, a leading figure in the opposition party Jamaat-e-Islami. Prior to his abduction, he was a member of his father’s legal defence team.

According to a whistleblower report, Mir Ahmad was detained at a secret Bangladeshi detention centre known as Aynaghar. He was released on 6 August 2024 in Dhaka, with photos of his release revealing a significant loss of weight.

Education and Career

Mir Ahmad completed his Bar Vocational Course (BVC) at the Inns of Court School of Law (ICSL) and was subsequently called to the Bar of England and Wales. He also holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of London. At the time of his abduction in 2016, he was representing his father in the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh, which was established in 2010.

Abduction

Mir Ahmad was reportedly abducted from his home in Mirpur, Dhaka, on the night of 9 August 2016. According to his lawyers, a group of 8 to 9 men entered his apartment around 11 pm, demanding his whereabouts from his family. Mir Ahmad then went to the door and was told he needed to come with them. He was given a brief moment with his family before the men forcibly entered the apartment, dragged him down the stairs, and placed him in a mini-bus. This abduction followed the typical pattern of other such incidents by Bangladesh’s security forces.

Prior to this event, Mir Ahmad had been questioned by members of the Rapid Action Battalion on 5 August 2016.

Release

Mir Ahmad was released on 6 August 2024, the day after Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled Bangladesh amidst widespread protests. Images shared by his family showed him reuniting with his mother and daughters. His release was met with relief and joy from two of his long-time advocates, lawyers Michael Polak and Toby Cadman.

Statements by Human Rights Organisations

International human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have extensively reported on Mir Ahmad’s abduction and called for his release. Amnesty International described his arrest as warrantless and noted that he had been held incommunicado without being charged with any crime. Human Rights Watch reported that Mir Ahmad was taken by individuals claiming to be “members of the administration,” who disregarded requests for a warrant.

The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances urged the Bangladeshi government to reveal the whereabouts of all enforced disappearance victims, including Mir Ahmad. In August 2021, Human Rights Watch’s 57-page report, “‘Where No Sun Can Enter’: A Decade of Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh,” listed Mir Ahmad among 86 individuals still missing.

International Media Coverage

Mir Ahmad’s abduction received international attention. On Al-Jazeera’s Head to Head programme on 1 March 2019, Mir Ahmad’s lawyer Michael Polak questioned Bangladeshi Foreign Affairs Advisor Mr Gowher Rizvi about the case. Rizvi assured that all allegations of enforced disappearances, including Mir Ahmad’s, would be investigated.

Foreign Policy has reported on the broader issue of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh, including Mir Ahmad’s case. David Bergman’s investigative report for The Wire suggested that Mir Ahmad’s abduction may have been authorised by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, with the military intelligence agency Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) given “clearance” for his arrest.

Mir Ahmad’s situation also gained further prominence when Channel 4 news presenter Alex Thomson asked MP Tulip Siddique, the niece of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, if she would use her influence to help secure his release.