On October 6, 2010, Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman Badal was arrested by the Drug Control Directorate police of the Ramna zone in the Dhaka metropolitan area. He was detained on the charge of being an accomplice to a drug smuggler who resided in the same building.

On October 12, 2010, Adv. Shahanur Islam Saikot, JusticeMaker Fellow 2010, and also Executive Director of Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) took up Mr. Badal’s defence and conducted interviews with the accused and his family. Additionally, Shahanur visited the relevant authorities to inquire about the reasons for arresting Mr. Badal and the police’s interrogation techniques. However, the police did not supply him with the requested information.

According to the family’s statement, Mr. Badal was seized in his home where he lives with his wife and two children, in a building in which he is  also employed as the caretaker. At noon on October 6, police entered his workplace and arrested him. According to the family’s statement, after violently assaulting Mr.Badal, the police searched his house without a search warrant, allegedly looking for drugs. None were recovered, however they found BDT 11,000.00 (USD$156), which they confiscated.

According to Mr. Badal, upon being brought to the Rama Zone office of Drug Control Directorate in Dhaka, the police used brutal interrogation techniques in attempt to coerce a confession. Throughout the incident, the police never provided evidence for their accusations, simply citing Mr. Badal’s physical proximity to a drug dealer living in the same building as their reasoning for his probable guilt.

Adv. Shahanur Islam Saikot talking with the wife and daughter of the accused

Shahanur has applied for bail on Mr. Badal’s behalf, and currently, Mr. Badal is in jail awaiting a court order that would grant him release.  He maintains his innocence.  Shahanur has vowed to continue to work with the Badal family to resolve this matter and