‘My only crime was opposing the fascist government’: JCD leader recounts torture in Aynaghar

Nur-e-Alam, a former Chhatra Dal leader of Nilphamari Government College, has recounted torture inside the secret detention facility known as Aynaghar and a subsequent staged “militant operation” in testimony before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

He testified on Tuesday as the seventh witness in the case concerning the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence’s (DGFI) Joint Interrogation Cell, commonly known as Aynaghar, before ICT-1.

Alam said 35–40 plainclothes men picked him up from his home in Nilphamari in the early hours of April 12, 2016. He was handcuffed and blindfolded before being driven for 8–10 hours and taken to a small cell.

“My crime was that I was involved in BNP politics and wrote on Facebook against the then fascist Awami government and Indian hegemony,” he said in his testimony.

He alleged that the cell remained illuminated around the clock and that he was subjected to physical torture. At times, he was allegedly suspended from a ceiling ring, while on other occasions he was beaten on his knees and thighs to force a confession.

Alam also recalled seeing messages written by detainees on the walls of the facility near the cantonment, including the words, “O Allah, rescue me.”

He said he was held at the DGFI facility for 14–15 days before being transferred to another detention centre. His hands and eyes were kept tied for prolonged periods, causing wounds and bleeding, he said. He was given only two minutes to bathe and use the toilet, and any delay was allegedly met with beatings and deprivation of food.

Alam said he later identified the facilities as belonging to RAB-4 and RAB-10 after seeing the units’ markings on a stand fan.

After months of enforced disappearance, Alam and other detainees were taken to Chattogram on November 30, 2016. There, he alleged, RAB staged a “militant rescue operation” under the leadership of then RAB-7 commander Colonel Miftah Uddin Ahmed.

According to his testimony, the detainees were kept inside a building while RAB personnel staged sirens, loudspeaker announcements and the forced breaking of doors outside. A laptop was allegedly set on fire to create smoke, while weapons, ammunition and books brought beforehand were placed near the detainees. Photographs and videos were then taken to portray the incident as a successful operation.

He was subsequently handed over to Akbar Shah Police Station and sent to jail in a case he described as fabricated. He spent 11 months in prison before securing bail, but said the ordeal permanently disrupted his education.

In his testimony, Alam held then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her security adviser Tarique Siddique, and relevant DGFI and RAB officials responsible for the alleged abuses.

He called for strict punishment of those responsible for the alleged crimes against humanity and appropriate compensation for victims.